Narrative:

While performing post maintenance ground runs; engine cowling was left propped up during engine start. We had done one prior ground run to get the initial T/right (tail rotor) vibe reading; and shut down. I made an adjustment to the T/right. Pilot performed walk-around; and attempted to start the aircraft again. We got an amber government (governor) light. I had him cycle the power and try again; but we got the amber government again. After checking the fadec (full authority digital engine control) code; I opened the engine cowling; and cleaned a couple electrical connectors. Forgetting about the engine cowling; and not expecting it to start; I had the pilot try to start again. The aircraft started; and the engine cowling was struck by an M/right (main rotor) blade. We shut down immediately; and notified our supervisors. The hinge was torn from the engine cowling; damaging the honeycomb structure; and the prop rod was bent. No damage to blades or any other part of the aircraft. I had self-imposed pressure to get the aircraft done; so I was rushing a little bit. I had the crew standing by to swap aircraft because they were in service; sitting in the spare aircraft and on a delay while we were doing ground runs. They were not pressuring me; but I think it made me rush more than I should have. I had mentioned to the pilot that the crew should stay at the base quarters while we did ground runs at the airport; but they had to come with the pilot in case they got a flight. Next time I will insist that the crew stay at the base and we go on a longer delay so the pilot can pick them up if they get a flight.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Maintenance Technician reported aircraft damaged during engine runs.

Narrative: While performing post maintenance ground runs; engine cowling was left propped up during engine start. We had done one prior ground run to get the initial T/R (Tail Rotor) vibe reading; and shut down. I made an adjustment to the T/R. Pilot performed walk-around; and attempted to start the aircraft again. We got an amber GOV (Governor) light. I had him cycle the power and try again; but we got the amber GOV again. After checking the FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) code; I opened the engine cowling; and cleaned a couple electrical connectors. Forgetting about the engine cowling; and not expecting it to start; I had the pilot try to start again. The aircraft started; and the engine cowling was struck by an M/R (Main Rotor) blade. We shut down immediately; and notified our supervisors. The hinge was torn from the engine cowling; damaging the honeycomb structure; and the prop rod was bent. No damage to blades or any other part of the aircraft. I had self-imposed pressure to get the aircraft done; so I was rushing a little bit. I had the crew standing by to swap aircraft because they were in service; sitting in the spare aircraft and on a delay while we were doing ground runs. They were not pressuring me; but I think it made me rush more than I should have. I had mentioned to the pilot that the crew should stay at the base quarters while we did ground runs at the airport; but they had to come with the pilot in case they got a flight. Next time I will insist that the crew stay at the base and we go on a longer delay so the pilot can pick them up if they get a flight.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.