Summary:
The pilot was practising night flying after renewing her night rating two days beforehand, and was accompanied by an experienced flying group member. Prior to shut down after an uneventful flight, the aircraft was positioned to allow a manual push back into a parking slot; the aircraft was about 4 feet from a parked Piper PA-28R, G-TOLL, with the two aircraft approximately nose on to each other. The pilot thought she had set the parking brake and was covering the toe brakes during the shut down checks. However, with both occupants’ attention inside the cockpit, G-AVRK rolled forward towards the other aircraft. There were no sensations or cues of movement and the pilot realised too late what was happening. Although she reapplied the parking brake and shut down the engine, her aircraft struck the parked aircraft, causing spinner and propeller damage to both. The pilot thought that she may have inadvertently released toe brake pressure as she leant over in the cockpit to read the tachometer.