Passenger Walks Into Prop

[EMT-83]

From UPI:

MCKINNEY, Texas, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Fashion model and blogger Lauren Scruggs lost her left hand when she walked too close to an airplane propeller in Texas, her representatives said Monday.

People.com reported Scruggs, 23, suffered severe head and shoulder injuries, as well as, when her hand was severed in Saturday's mishap at a private airport in McKinney.

She had climbed out of a two-seat plane after a flight to look at Christmas lights, People.com said. A family representative posted a statement on the Web site Caring Bridge Monday, saying Scruggs was recovering from multiple surgeries.

"Lauren's surgery went very well this morning," the message said. "She is now resting in ICU with the family. She is able to open her right eye to see while her left eye is still bandaged. Please continue to pray for the vision of her left eye, as we will not know the status of her sight for some time."

[DakRadz]

That's multi-system trauma..

Seriously, where was the ground crew, paparazzi, model escorts, or enclosed walkway when all this went down? One of the above should have been there, especially for a prop that's still spinning. Common sense does come into play, but I don't know many companies/pilots who like unattended people wandering around at all.

[Stonewall]

Having protected two people for a total of 5 years while using private, charter, commercial, military, government aircraft, they'll do whatever they want.

[Eclipse]

Seriously, where was the ground crew, paparazzi, model escorts, or enclosed walkway when all this went down? One of the above should have been there, especially for a prop that's still spinning. Common sense does come into play, but I don't know many companies/pilots who like unattended people wandering around at all.

This isn't Tyra.  She's a blogger, and this was at night.  Most of the time, at smaller airports, there is no "ground crew", or anyone else.
Just you and the pilot.

Odds are this was some friend of hers, or friend of a friend, who gave her a ride, and the dude was going to take right back off and didn't want to shut down. 

Very sad, and a reminder that not all of our safety precautions are a waste of time.

[NIN]

I saw that yesterday.  Heinous.

It is amazing the lack of awareness spectators and passengers have to the concept of a spinning propeller.

I work in fairly close proximity to twin turbine aircraft quite a bit, and we take great measures and pains to prevent spectators and pax from approaching the aircraft without having to circumvent barriers or actually try to hurt themselves.  Skydiving ops have had very bad luck with observers riding in the aircraft and they get out and *bam* into a prop.  Sounds like a similar thing here.

For that reason, at my DZ we have several layers of protection:

1) Physical barriers between the spectator and flight operations areas, where the barrier extends beyond the nose of the aircraft. (bright yellow metal barricades near the aircraft, bright orange snow fencing closer to the hangar and manifest building) To circumvent the barrier, a spectator has to walk beyond the aircraft loading area and into the parachute landing area (clearly marked, but not with a barrier) which is a no-no anyway. By then, however, they're in the pilot's line of vision, still beyond the wingtip and ahead of the engine/prop by a wide margin.   Occasionally we get tandem spectators who do this. Oddly enough, its foreign people more frequently than not.

2) The access thru the barrier at the loading area is nominally blocked by the big honking aluminum stairs on wheels that we push to the plane.  When they're parked waiting for the plane to taxi up, they're effectively blocking the hole thru the barrier. You have to physically squeeze between the barrier and the stairs.

3) A retractable barrier between the main barrier and the stairs.  We used to have a sort of take-up reel thing (almost like a tape-measure) that was attached to the stairs and payed out at waist-level as the stairs were pushed to the airplane.  The darn thing kept breaking, so we replaced with a length of yellow plastic chain and a bungee cord to keep it taut once the stairs were in place. Works a treat: to move  under the wing (and toward the prop) from the line between the loading area and the aircraft door, you have to step over this thing at waist level. Nope. Can't do it easily.

4) Colored carpet delineating the "walk here" area between the stairs and the loading area. Its actually quite handy at herding unruly skydivers and recalcitrant tandem passengers.

5) A policy of always escorting observers or non-jumping folks from the loading area to the cockpit and back again with a staff member.  Instructors have their hands on their students when going to/from the plane, as well, so they don't wander away.  The pilot won't let someone riding right-seat get out of the cockpit until there is a staff member waiting there to escort them out of the plane.

Now, do people circumvent the barriers? Yep. All the time. I do it.  But you can darn sure bet that you can't do it inadvertently or accidentally.  You have to be *trying* to get around the barriers, even if you're a little kid.  Heck the DOGS don't even circumvent the barrier.

And it is incumbent upon anybody who is working around aircraft to take extra special precautions when doing hot load/unloads with _any_ kind or type of aircraft, whether fixed or rotary wing.  Just cuz its a bug-smasher doesn't mean it can't kill you.

[Eclipse]

Now, do people circumvent the barriers? Yep. All the time. I do it.  But you can darn sure bet that you can't do it inadvertently or accidentally.  You have to be *trying* to get around the barriers, even if you're a little kid.  Heck the DOGS don't even circumvent the barrier.

Just the mental process of having to circumvent the barrier will automatically alert you there's something to watch for.

At the last eval we had an aircraft (not ours) sitting smack in the middle of the hanger, and directly in a main path of travel for most of the base staff.  It had a black prop in the horizontal position and I almost walked into it three or four times - I finally had to ask the Safety Officer to
mark it off with flagging tape, etc., this was after he'd done his "inspection" and declared everything "safe".

[a2capt]

Enclosed walkway?

I'd like to see that for your typical GA twin. 

Worse thing here, they'll sue and cause cages to have to be erected around props. Like an oscillating fan..

Seriously, awful though.

[simon]

Seriously, where was the ground crew, paparazzi, model escorts, or enclosed walkway when all this went down? One of the above should have been there

Good grief. An enclosed walkway? Are you serious?

Let's at least wait until the circumstances of the accident are known. Prop injuries are extremely rare thanks to almost all pilots following simple, commonsense procedures. That said, I do know of one that happened in our area and took the life of an experienced flight instructor.

It's akin to stepping off a curb without looking. It doesn't mean that we should protect people by lining every roadside curb in the country with a 3 foot barrier.

I really hate to read about these unfortunate accidents. A terrible price to pay for a moment's lapse in concentration.

[Flying Pig]

Ive probably stopped about 5 people from walking into a tail rotor. On the MD500 the exhaust is under the tail.  People think if they go around back they can duck under the tail boom.  2000 deg exhaust there to meet you and blow you into the tail.  We position ourselves a certain way so the people cant get past me as the exit.  I actually had to grab a womans pony tail once because she caught me off guard and thats all I could grab.  She was pissed until she realized what had happened.  After, she could stop saying sorry and thank you.

Its a sad deal that a young girl like this is now fighting for her life over a stupid accident.

People not in aviation or mechanically inclined just have no idea. 

[DakRadz]

I don't see anything- ah, it does say "two-seat plane." Regardless, I was thinking more the pilot being aware.

And no, I don't really expect the paparazzi or model escorts to be there. Had it been a bigger plane, maybe the enclosed walkway (once again, I've acknowledged that's not feasible now). Ground crew, same thing, not a big plane enough to justify or expect.

Still back to an observant pilot or keeping the passenger in plane until it's safe.

[Just being technical here, she's a model and a blogger]

[simon]

Flying Pig, wouldn't it be nice to have one of those quiet and passenger friendly MD 500N NOTARs. Worst thing that could happen was a bad hair day, not a no head day.

The last prop accident I knew about around here was three years ago. Two student pilots flew together. After landing, they saw a fuel truck approaching and thought they might get busted. The pilot got out and ran off, engine still running. The passenger got out and ran to the left side, straight into the prop. Died 3 days later. By all accounts it really is like walking into a guillotine.

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=ad0b8d2e-71dd-4183-a48a-ede1ad08b133

[simon]

I will be interested to see the aircraft model. One of the news videos has the reported filming a Pitts and saying "A plane like this" but who knows if it is just whatever file footage they could drum up.

My first thought was 'why did the pilot allow the prop to be running' with a passenger in the vicinity, but in another video, there is a witness to the accident talking, so it sounds like we may find out the circumstances. The reported said her family, who was also there at the time of the accident, thought she was walking back to thank the pilot. So before anyone goes off on the pilot, there is the possibility that he/she was not at fault. If it really is a pits, having taxiied one, visibility is poor - you have to zig zag. So if it was night, the pilot was taxiing away, the passenger ran out of the terminal to go thank the pilot etc. etc. - you can see how it might have unfolded. It may not be a straight cut case of a passenger getting out with a running engine.

[Flying Pig]

Flying Pig, wouldn't it be nice to have one of those quiet and passenger friendly MD 500N NOTARs. Worst thing that could happen was a bad hair day, not a no head day.

The last prop accident I knew about around here was three years ago. Two student pilots flew together. After landing, they saw a fuel truck approaching and thought they might get busted. The pilot got out and ran off, engine still running. The passenger got out and ran to the left side, straight into the prop. Died 3 days later. By all accounts it really is like walking into a guillotine.

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=ad0b8d2e-71dd-4183-a48a-ede1ad08b133

Exhaust would still melt your face off! I remember that one at Castle? I was up there  day or two afterwards  If Im not mistaken, he was dead on scene, but they kept him ticking on life support until his family could be notified or something?

This girl, although very tragic is luck to be alive.  Props are designed to pull.  You get your arm stuck in it, it WILL pull you in.  The fact that she has facial trauma and her left side is "mangled"...man....another inch or two and she would be dead.

[Huey Driver]

Wow... pure laziness, well, and a lack of common sense. She was the pilot's responsibility, and why couldn't he have turned the thing off before letting her out? Batteries and starters can't compare to the cost of a life.

[Flying Pig]

Do we know he let her out with it running or did she re-approach on her own after he restarted?

[Major Lord]

On organ donor/transplant team ambulance transports, we would usually roll in hot, right up the the aircraft and load/unload parts or people. My partner, who was driving, brought the rig within about 2 feet of the spinning  port side prop, and would not stop because he thought I was yelling at him to not drive on the runway. If you are only allowed a certain number of heart beats, and when they are all gone you die, I think I gave up about 5% of my remaining beats in about 10 seconds......It would have been much worse than that Nazi guy in "Indiana Jones". I would usually try to drive the rig after that.....

Major Lord

[Cliff_Chambliss]

I continue to be amazed at the number of pilots who gloss over the crew/passenger briefing (If they even bother to give one).    This is not a slap at any one person or organization, but should be a wake up call for all pilots and aircrew.

Many checklists just state "passenger briefing...complete" and leave it at that.  Yes, 14CFR91 goes a bit more into detail as to what should be addressed in the crew/passenger briefing, but really, how many of us even bother to read the regulations unless we are  prepping for a checkride of some sort, and immediately following the ride do a brain flush.

As an Instructor Pilot and a CAP Form 5 Check Pilot I expect a full crew/passenger briefing before every flight.  What gets addressed:
Seat Belt and Shoulder Harness Use and Operation.
Door and door locks
What to do should a door open in flight
Sterile Cockpit Rules
Basic aircraft Emergency Procedures.
Off Airport Landing.
Aircraft Egress.
Always approach and exit the aircraft towards the tail.
Never leave the aircraft with the engine running.

If flying with another pilot:
Who performs checklist functions
Who Operates the radios
Who navigates
Positive exchange of Aircraft control.

Then as a pilot, as much as possible I always try to position the aircraft where passengers have to approach from the rear. (But be mindful not to blow dirt, rocks, debris onto the public).

We should never underestimate to power of human stupidity, and should always remember that regardless of our best efforts someone is going to do something stupid.  All we can do is try our best to mitigate the risk.

[bosshawk]

Cliff: excellent post.  Too bad that not many pilots(nevermind CAP pilots) don't use this sort of approach.  I happen to be one who feels that informing your passengers as to their roles and responsibilities is mandatory on every flight.  The twenty or thirty seconds used is insignificant compared to the possible consequences.

[simon]

An update: The pilot allowed the passenger to exit the aircraft (A Husky) while the engine was still running, so as to take the next passenger without a shutdown. The passenger almost walked into the prop as she got out. The pilot warned her and waved her away. Next thing he knows, she walks back to the plane and into the prop.

A lesson for us all, much as I feel so bad for the girl and her family.

"On December 12, 2011, about 2050 central daylight time, a passenger of a parked Aviat Aircraft Inc., Husky A-1C, N2364G, 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 operated 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."

Source: NTSB preliminary report. http://images.bimedia.net/documents/0116_ntsb_scruggs.pdf