Jan. 9, Albuquerque, N.M. / Piper Comanche

At approximately 12:30 MST, the pilot of a Piper PA-24-250 was seriously injured while hand propping the airplane. The aircrafts battery was dead and the pilot was attempting to hand start the airplane. He stumbled on loose gravel when the engine started, and the propeller struck the pilot in the face. The passenger was uninjured.