The owner of the aircraft told me that is what happened. And the engine kept running due to an intermittent electrical fault that didn't ground the L magneto in the OFF position. Until it did ground the magneto. Whether or not they cooked up that story to suit their own purposes, who knows. If that engine was running only on one magneto at take-off I find it pretty difficult to believe even the most superficially observant pilot would not notice that. If not seeing the key position in the switch, the sound and performance of the engine should have been a giveaway.
Last edited by gulliBell; 8th Mar 2021 at 07:48.