No ... a pre-flight inspection WAS done ( see original post ). I went over the bird from one end to the other with him and then he turned off the RX & TX. Afterwards, we chatted for a couple of minutes and then I started walking back to my truck to grab the camera when all of this took place. He simply got ahead of himself, spun the prop to prime the carb., turned the RX on, reached for his glow starter and simply forgot to switch his TX on ... the engine fired instantly and caught him by surprise.
All he had to do was let the plane settle into the start stand and he wouldn't have gotten hurt but out of pure instinct he reached out with his left hand to block the bird and got bit.
This post wasn't put here for anyone to be judgemental, it was to remind the good folks here to never take anything for granted or get in any hurry.
How many of us here do a complete walk around to check the tire pressure, fluids, etc. EVERYTIME we get in our vehicles. I don't, maybe once a month, but not everytime I get in my truck !
Human beings make mistakes and nobody is perfect, those that think they are will find out the hard way sooner or later.
This club member is a well rounded RC enthusiast who fly's everything from helicopters, a huge assortment of 3D birds down to his 10 year old trainer and all look well cared for. I'm sure he was just as much embarrassed as he was hurt physically.
Enough said IMO.