Running prop injures 23 year old woman

[stickontheice]

Why in God's name would you let anyone out of a running airplane???

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/Plano- ... ler-120511

None of this "That's how it's done in the North" crap either please.

[looproll]

Done it many times and it's never been a big deal. Albeit the person getting out of the aircraft wasn't a moron and knew to walk away from the "whirling blades of death". Never had an alternator failure "way up North"?

[FlyGy]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatche ... -1108.html

It should never happen, but Darwinism persists.

There is no reason to prohibit people from exiting a running aircraft safely, but I'll admit a preference to enter/exit the aircraft while it is shut down.

[KK7]

This is done pretty regularly all over the place whether in fixed wing aircraft or helicopters. But AFAIK most companies have specific procedures for doing this if the aircraft is capable of it, and it usually involves briefing, supervising and/or accompanying the passengers.

[Meatservo]

Pretty much how it's done in the North. ...So there's that...

[BTyyj]

"She was hit be a propeller, but she will be propelled to do gods work." Lame . I think god must have played a role in this one though, because if Darwin got his way, this would have ended fairly similarly to the Humboldt incident.

I love how in a lot of comments on the FOX website, people are blaming the pilot. Seriously? Here's an example: "This would not be a good pilot's plan-of-action, especially at night." Walking into a propellor wouldn't the best plan-of-action of a person with common sense either. I would assume that everybody knows not to walk into a propellor; everybody has watched Indiana Jones! Plus, she had been riding in the plane already, so hopefully she knew the front end from the a$$ end of plane by then. Being dark outside shouldn't have mattered.

Why do people always try take sides with the injured. I truly feel bad for this woman, but I don't think anybody but her could be blamed.

[ahramin]

Jack I don't understand you defending the pilot. It's the pilot responsibility to make sure no one gets killed or injured. Pilots shouldn't be hoping that someone doesn't get hit by the prop, they should make sure, end of story. Else stick to something with less severe consequences, golf for example.

[BTyyj]

hmmm... I guess. Maybe it is the pilots fault.

The argument seems pretty one sided though. I am wondering more why she walked right into the propellor in the first place, rather than why the pilot didn't personally escort her to safety to prevent her from doing something completely dumb. I don't think someone needs a pilot to tell them not to walk into something that could easily kill them, but I may be wrong. Seems nowadays, common sense has become a thing of the past.

[MIQ]

Even though the safe operation of the aircraft is the pilot's responsibility, one would expect another person to be careful enough not to walk into a running engine. I mean a propeller makes so much noise, creates such a strong blast of wind and is pretty big so that no one should have problems 'seeing' it, no matter if it's dark outside or not. Especially if you have spent a couple of hours on the plane already as a passenger, you should know what areas of the aircraft you should stay away from. It is a tragic accident and I truly feel bad for the woman that this had to happen to her but I really don't think that blaming the pilot is the right thing in this case. A certain safety briefing on how to exit the airplane would be a good thing to do, but the guy can't pick up the girl and carry her into the terminal building into a 'safe' waiting area.
As a driver of a car you can tell people to watch out for traffic before opening the door, but at the end the passenger got to watch out not to get hit by traffic while walking away from the car.
But still, turning the engine off while passengers are boarding and de-boarding would be the best procedure.

[Broke4Sure]

Boy this thread brings back a lot bad scares from my early years flying. My first plane was a J-3 cub with no electrics and I often had people lined up for their first plane ride. I always instructed them to exit behind the lift strut and walk towards the tail of the plane so I wouldn't have to shut down and hand prop for the next passenger. It was the one getting on for the next ride that scared me. I kept one hand on the mag switch and motioned with my other hand for them to approach from the rear. My worst experience was one time when I was giving a youngster a ride. I strapped him in the back seat and with the wheels chocked, I was standing in front of the plane with his father while I hand propped. As soon as the engine started the young fellow jumped out like a gunshot and ran for his father. To this day I don`t know how he missed the prop but believe me I never did that again.
Broke

[Donald]

And this from a day ago:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/lauren-scruggs ... d=15102080

[BTyyj]

And this from a day ago:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/lauren-scruggs ... d=15102080

"Lauren's parents Cheryl and Jeff Scruggs said that they believe the 23-year-old walked back toward Richmond's plane at the private airport north of Dallas to say a final thank you, perhaps as he was preparing to take off again."

How is he suppose to prepare for that? If he was busy preparing for another flight, and it was dark out, he wouldn't be able to see anything. How many on here, after turning on their engine, watches their propellor CONSTANTLY to make sure nobody walks right into it?

I feel really bad for this woman after reading this though. It seems much easier to do in this senario rather than just walking out of the plane into the prop. But the pilot can't be blamed, especially now that nobody was entering or exiting the plane at that point.

[KK7]

Passengers should have common sense, but part of our responsibility as flight crew is to assume that they don't. Maybe the woman felt sick and wasn't thinking straight. Maybe she was partially blind and deaf. Maybe, maybe, maybe... Whether after the fact any of this is the case or not, we don't know our passengers before hand and we need to assume the worst case.

We think it is common sense to not walk into a propeller, but when we are around airplanes we have our wits about us and if we hold a medical for a pilot's licence, we are probably in good enough health, both physical and mentally, to know that the fast spinning whirly thing is dangerous. But don't tell me none of you have ever been in a situation out of your element, in a foreign environment and done something what someone familiar in the environment would have considered to be stupid. Our job is to keep our passengers safe, and part of that is briefing passengers, escorting them or supervising them to avoid this kind of thing from happening.

[BTyyj]

I agree with what you are saying here.

We don't really know the situation at all. For what it's worth, maybe the pilot turned off the engine, escorted them out, then went back for his next flight. The report doesn't seem too clear on what happened, but everyone seems quick to point figures at the pilot rather than the woman who actually walked into the propellor.

I think everybody should wait for an official report before pointing figures. As we have already discussed on these forums, news agencies aren't the most accurate sources of information. If it turns out the pilot is completely at fault after the report is filed, I am fine with that. But until then, I think this should be just a good reminder to all pilots to be careful, rather than to disparage this pilot when the whole story hasn't even come out.

[looproll]

I feel bad for her, but there is a way to do it safely. Her life has changed forever there's no doubt. I wouldn't let someone I don't know out with the engine running. You certainly have to make sure the person is of sound mind and body, and that they will proceed with caution away from the propeller and not return. If you're briefed your passenger and they still get hit by the propeller, what can you do?

I don't see the electricity running through my house, but I don't go sticking a fork into the outlets.

[FL_CH]

Young, Hot, Blonde Model - a dream in bed, a nightmare as a passenger.

[frosti]

"We really believe that because the progress that she's made is because of god....."

[BTyyj]

If God is your Copilot - you're in the wrong seat!

[stickontheice]

Sure a lot of Darwinim in this thread. Pilot's responsibility regardless if the woman was suicidal. Kill the engine not the people