Narrative:

I took my aircraft to a maintenance shop on my home field for an oil change. Later that afternoon I received a text message indicating that the maintenance was completed and that the aircraft was back in the hangar.I did a pre-flight of the airplane noticing a large dent on the side of the aircraft. I contacted the owner of the maintenance shop via text sending him pictures of the dent. He responded after I had landed at my destination letting me know that we could discuss the dent when I returned later that afternoon. He made no mention of the prop strike. I flew the aircraft for a total of approximately 4 hours and upon return to my airport; I was contacted by the airport manager who told me that two separate witnesses approached him and told him that they witnessed a mechanic from my maintenance shop pull my aircraft from their hangar; and attempted to start it with the tow bar still attached. They witnessed the tow bar being hit by the propeller; striking the aircraft and go flying off. They witnessed the mechanic come out of the airplane; do a brief walk around the aircraft and then return my aircraft back to my hangar. I was never notified of the propeller strike by either the mechanic or the maintenance shop owner. Upon hearing the airport manager's account; I immediately called the maintenance shop owner who informed me that his mechanic had not mentioned the prop strike to him. He called me back the next day and confirmed that his mechanic had indeed pulled my aircraft from their hangar; and attempted to start it with the tow bar still attached and had returned my aircraft to my hangar without notifying anyone.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA28 pilot reported being advised that a mechanic starting the airplane with the tow bar still attached resulted in a prop strike and fuselage dent.

Narrative: I took my aircraft to a maintenance shop on my home field for an oil change. Later that afternoon I received a text message indicating that the maintenance was completed and that the aircraft was back in the hangar.I did a pre-flight of the airplane noticing a large dent on the side of the aircraft. I contacted the owner of the maintenance shop via text sending him pictures of the dent. He responded after I had landed at my destination letting me know that we could discuss the dent when I returned later that afternoon. He made no mention of the prop strike. I flew the aircraft for a total of approximately 4 hours and upon return to my airport; I was contacted by the airport manager who told me that two separate witnesses approached him and told him that they witnessed a mechanic from my maintenance shop pull my aircraft from their hangar; and attempted to start it with the tow bar still attached. They witnessed the tow bar being hit by the propeller; striking the aircraft and go flying off. They witnessed the mechanic come out of the airplane; do a brief walk around the aircraft and then return my aircraft back to my hangar. I was NEVER notified of the propeller strike by either the mechanic or the maintenance shop owner. Upon hearing the airport manager's account; I immediately called the maintenance shop owner who informed me that his mechanic had not mentioned the prop strike to him. He called me back the next day and confirmed that his mechanic had indeed pulled my aircraft from their hangar; and attempted to start it with the tow bar still attached and had returned my aircraft to my hangar without notifying anyone.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.