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Blonde v Propeller


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Most of us have probably seen/heard of this by now, but I still thought I'd put it out there for public consumption. Any way you look at it, this just has to hurt.

Self-police yourselves on the blonde jokes.....somewhat. :wacko:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/lauren-scruggs-tragedy-parents-speak-models-propeller-accident/story?id=15093570#.Tt6d5PJ8t8E

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Well, without knowing a lot of specifics, this appears to be partially the fault of the pilot. I don't know why she would get out of a turning aircraft, unless the pilot was about to take another passenger up for a quick peak at the lights. If that were the case, she should have been well briefed. Even so, she could have had brain freeze and done it anyway. When I was on the TR we had a sailor walk into the prop of a C-2 Greyhound. The word was he was used to working around E-2's, but I guess it did not make any difference. An E-2/C-2/P-3/C-130 engine prop will hit you 58 times in a second.

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Sorry, but if anybody was to see fit to post a blonde joke then I'd be bound to say they're out of order. What seems clear to me is that the young woman was not properly briefed and in any case no passengers should be disembarking with the motor running unless escorted by a member of a ground handling team. If there was nobody around to assist the P1 should have switched the motor off.

peebeep

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So unfortunate for this young woman with allot of future ahead, I hope she can recover soon, pilot gacked up a basic safety rule, most prop accidents are fatal, and a high bypass turbofan engine you become a spiral sliced ham instantly, one wonders how people become so unaware of their surroundings and soon complacency sets in along with distractions such as texting, and when in a dangerous environment “near any type aircraft†can and will be lethal.

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As a brief blonde joke but not really (that's a tragedy and nothing to joke about) my wife, blonde, while we were at MAPS air museum when the Collings Foundation was there last August had a moment of clarity. She said she finally realized why the prop tips were painted yellow. She informed me this as we were watching the P-51 taxi up. and she noticed the yellow circle.

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There are no jokes here, blonde or not, if you are not familiar with prop driven a/c you can get killed by it!!

The briefing should have been simple and forceful."Get out of the plane, walk towards the tail, when you are behind the wing walk out to the wingtip then you can leave!!"

When we had some C-2s in Cold Lake for Maple Flag once I watched the start up of one and was confused by their man made semi circle around the front of the a/c, wingtip to wingtip. When the bird taxiied I asked the senior rating what it was about, he said they had had so many guys walk into the props this was a new safety procedure. So it just goes to show you, can work on a plane and it can still kill you!!!

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Aircraft are dangerous and should be banned along with cars, ships (especially Italian) trains, electricity etc. etc.

A little knowledge is not a dangerous thing - in this case it might have prevented a nasty accident.

I am old enough though, to remember when people took notice of their surroundings and kept away from danger - ie: before iPods, smart phones, texting and laptops - or maybe it was too boring just walking around and we actually looked at things and saw them for what they were...?

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When we had some C-2s in Cold Lake for Maple Flag once I watched the start up of one and was confused by their man made semi circle around the front of the a/c, wingtip to wingtip. When the bird taxiied I asked the senior rating what it was about, he said they had had so many guys walk into the props this was a new safety procedure. So it just goes to show you, can work on a plane and it can still kill you!!!

Thats the standard SOP for E-2/C-2 squadrons, its called the safety chain, I've seen people on deck not paying attention and break the chain, only to instantly get slammed to the deck. I HATE props, especially at night. The last time I was at sea for CQ's, one of our jets was on El 2 while VAW-120 was doing crew swaps, we were surronded by 4 turning Hawkeyes, not fun. Another time I was between cats 1 & 2 waiting for our jets after two Hawkeyes launched. Well the Hawkeye on Cat 1 had to be pulled off, they took it forward, turned it around and brought it back, we had to lay down while it passed, there was a prop about 7 or 8 feet to either side........not fun.

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The good news is, the latest reports say she's making a remarkable recovery.

Awhile back someone posted some pics on the Warbird Information Exchange of the aftermath of a mechanic who was ingested by a 737. Apparently he and another mech were standing on either side of the engine while the crew was running a ground test at 70% power. For some reason, he stepped into the exclusion zone (there's speculation his hat blew off, and he reflexively grabbed for it) and was instantally sucked into the engine. The result was horrific..there was nothing remotely recognizable. One split second of inattention was all it took.

SN

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I don't know why she would get out of a turning aircraft, unless the pilot was about to take another passenger up for a quick peak at the lights. If that were the case, she should have been well briefed.

Some more info of this:

The engine was kept running as the pilot was getting ready to load more passengers for another tour of Christmas lights (won't comment on the wisdom of this just stating the circumstances)

Curt Richmond, the pilot of the fateful flight in which the model walked into the propeller, told air officials he raised his arm and loudly warned the 23-year-old model & fashion blogger to step behind the plane before she made impact with it.

"Upon noticing that she was exiting in front of the strut, the pilot leaned out of his seat and placed his right hand and arm in front of her to divert her away from the front of the airplane and the propeller," according to a report released by the National Transportation Safety Administration. "He continued to keep his arm extended and told the passenger that she should walk behind the airplane."

Regards

Jim Barr

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As a former accident investigator, there are so many things in this tragic event that don't add up. The video article stock footage of a PITTS SPECIAL???!!! Then if it was a Cessna because of the refrence to the strut, you still have to go a long way around the door and around the strut to start walking forward. If it was a commercial siteseeing flight why were there no other safeties in place to prevent this

The NTSB accident database appears to be off line this AM

Ok Back on Monday found the report:

NTSB Identification: CEN12LA125

14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation

Accident occurred Saturday, December 03, 2011 in McKinney, TX

Aircraft: AVIAT AIRCRAFT INC A-1C-180, registration: N62WY

Injuries: 1 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On December 3, 2011, about 2050 central daylight time, a passenger of a parked Aviat Aircraft Inc., Husky A-1C, N62WY, contacted its rotating propeller after exiting the airplane on the ramp of the Aero Country Airport (T31), McKinney, Texas. The airplane was registered to Shell Aviation, LLC, McKinney, Texas, and was being flown by a private pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The passenger was seriously injured and the pilot, who was the only other person remaining on board, was not injured. The flight had originated from T31 and had just returned from flying in the local area to view holiday lights from the air.

According to the pilot (as he recalls the event), after landing from the planned 20-minute flight, he stopped the airplane on the ramp with the engine running in anticipation of taking another passenger to view the holiday lights. He opened the door on the right side of the airplane expecting a friend to come out and assist his passenger in deplaning. After he opened the door, the passenger started to get out of the airplane. Upon noticing that she was exiting in front of the strut, the pilot leaned out of his seat and placed his right hand and arm in front of her to divert her away from the front of the airplane and the propeller. He continued to keep his arm extended and told the passenger that she should walk behind the airplane. Once he saw that the passenger was at least beyond where the strut was attached to the wing, and walking away, he dropped his right arm and returned to his normal seat position. The pilot then looked to the left side of the airplane and opened his window to ask who was next to go for a ride.

The pilot then heard someone yell, "STOP STOP," and he immediately shut down the engine and saw the passenger lying in front of the airplane.

Edited by majortomski
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Several years ago I read about a fellow who taxiied out solo in a Cessna light single at an uncontrolled airport. He got to the end of the runway, positioned to do his runup, and then the plane didn't move for quite a long time, it just sat there idling. The FBO tried to raise him on the radio to ask what his delay was, no answer. Finally they sent a car down the taxiway to find out what was going on. They found the pilot had got out of the running airplane and walked into the prop. They think he noticed the oil fill door on top right side of the cowling was not secure, got out to close it, and was so flustered on his way back to the cockpit that he just plain forgot to stay clear of the prop. Unfortunately by the time the car got out to him, he'd already bled to death.

From that article I decided I would never, ever let anyone get in or out of my Cessna with the engine running. It's just too easy to get focused on other things and forget about the prop, which is what it sounds like happened to this poor lady.

Not long ago there was an accident at Chicago O'Hare in which a ramp agent was similarly focused on the wrong thing and walked into the spinning prop of a turboprop. Lots of passengers got to witness his demise. It happens...

Scott W.

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When I started my career there was a California Highway Patrol officer who was involved with training firefighters in helicopter safety for mediflights. He was killed when he forgot himself for a moment and walked downhill (a big no no) towards a helicopter and was struck by the rotors. I work around a lot of helicopters and just like the garbage disposal (which I know is evil and just waiting for me to drop something in it) they keep my full attention when I'm near them.

I think many people who don't work around aircraft have no idea how dangerous they can be.

There was a woman a few years back who managed to slip by us when we had a helicopter working a search and rescue incident. I saw her headed straight for the running helicopter and shouted for her to stop. She ignored me and proceeded to stand up on a bench in front of the helicopter while her friend took her photo. The rotors couldn't have been more than a few feet from her head. She is lucky it was a Huey and not the Lama we often get or she would have been shorter and in several pieces.

When I told her how easily she could have been killed she just kind of shrugged and laughed it off like it was no big deal and we were just exagerating to look important.

Edited by Aaronw
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The preliminary report from the NTSB stated the pilot motioned her to stay away from the propeller. He also didn't know she had been struck until he heard one of the others waiting to get into the aircraft for their turn for a ride to see the lights to get in. Shutting down the engine was so easy, yet he opted not to take the safest route...now both are paying for it. Wait until one of those who witnessed it, sue him for PTSD.

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  • 2 weeks later...

While we are on the story of prop planes...I heard a story Years ago from a friends father who was in the AF...he told us that props that are in bright finish such as silver (say on VIP planes) can hypnotize the ground controllers and there where quite a few accidents because of this...any truth to this?

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There's loss of concentration that leads to accidents, but there's also complete stupidity. I operate a hydraulic excavator for a living, and a lot of the work I do is in city centers and other crowded places. We have to walk a thin line between keeping things safe and not blocking off all access. I've learned a long time ago not to rely on common sense, because that's something no longer used. You wouldn't believe the things people do around a thirty ton machine. I can't recall how many times I've told someone it's unbelievable how someone so stupid can live to their age. Part of my brain is always scanning for movement in places where here should be none, because injuring or killing someone by accident is something I fear a lot.

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There's loss of concentration that leads to accidents, but there's also complete stupidity. I operate a hydraulic excavator for a living, and a lot of the work I do is in city centers and other crowded places. We have to walk a thin line between keeping things safe and not blocking off all access. I've learned a long time ago not to rely on common sense, because that's something no longer used. You wouldn't believe the things people do around a thirty ton machine. I can't recall how many times I've told someone it's unbelievable how someone so stupid can live to their age. Part of my brain is always scanning for movement in places where here should be none, because injuring or killing someone by accident is something I fear a lot.

I agree with you completely. I used to work in construction. We did quite a bit of work on older buildings in a downtown area. Lots of brick work and things like that. The whole area would be posted and roped off. You wouldn't believe how many people would just lift the rope and keep on walking down the sidewalk. People just don't pay attention anymore. I do remember reading in several WWII AAF accident reports that during training with b-24 bombers quite a few guys walked into the props also. Seems like they would exit the craft from the bomb bay and just walk straight into them. No matter what though this pilot should have turned off the engine.

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