Andrew Sarangan wrote:
Although I agree with the dangers of accidental engine starts, what I
would like to know if there really have been any cases of inadvertant
engines starts when the prop is turned half a rotation with the
mixture in cut-off even if the magnetos were on.

Early in my piloting career, while my instructor deftly distracted me
with questions about the cruising speed of an unladen swallow, I managed
to turn the mags off before pulling the engine to cutoff, so that it
stopped because the ignition died. Spotting my mistake, my instructor
asked me to run the starter over, and the engine gleefully spat to life
on the very first blade, and ran for another 5-10 seconds.

Then he asked me if I wouldn't mind terribly putting the plane away myself.

Take any aircraft X and put renter A before you who does something
similar but doesn't catch the mistake, and you too can become another
statistic by trusting that the prop is dead, that the p-lead works, and
that the cylinders are dry.

TheSmokingGnu