I've seen plenty of WW2 films with mechanics sitting on the wings and guiding the pilot during taxi. I can not see how a pot hole (on a paved taxiway?) would cause someone to fly 6 feet forward and to the side into a propeller. I am not promoting this behavior but I would like a better explanation that a pot hole.
Regardless, I will ask my questions again:
How do these fellas get their jobs? Is it similar to corporate aviation in that one would end up there through networking?
And whats more interesting is how much, and what sort of experience do these companies require from pilots? Presumably thousands of hours flying smaller props?