A be-1900 captain became distracted immediately prior to engine start and engaged number one engine ...

Narrative:

Just before engine start. All passengers and first officer boarded. Fuel truck was moving away after having refueled right wing. Ground crew gave signal to start #2; at that moment I became distracted by the fact that the load sheet fell to the floor. I retrieved it in a hurry; and attempted to resume. By mistake I engaged starter of #1. The moment the left prop started to spin; I aborted; and started the right. No one was near the prop at all. This event was my worst nightmare coming true. I have always taken pride in being precise and thoughtful prior to doing anything. This event was a huge departure from that tradition and I am the most fortunate man in the world because no injuries or damage resulted. I have learned from my mistake and will never let it happen again.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A BE-1900 Captain became distracted immediately prior to engine start and engaged number one engine starter after receiving clearance to start two. Upon realizing his mistake he aborted one and started two.

Narrative: Just before engine start. All passengers and First Officer boarded. Fuel truck was moving away after having refueled right wing. Ground crew gave signal to start #2; at that moment I became distracted by the fact that the load sheet fell to the floor. I retrieved it in a hurry; and attempted to resume. By mistake I engaged starter of #1. The moment the left prop started to spin; I aborted; and started the right. No one was near the prop at all. This event was my worst nightmare coming true. I have always taken pride in being precise and thoughtful prior to doing anything. This event was a huge departure from that tradition and I am the most fortunate man in the world because no injuries or damage resulted. I have learned from my mistake and will never let it happen again.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	1032491
Time
Date	201208
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Beech 1900
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Component
Aircraft Component	Engine Starting System
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown

A be-1900 captain became distracted immediately prior to engine start and engaged number one engine starter after receiving clearance to start two. Upon realizing his mistake he aborted one and started two.