Essential passenger briefing...Stay in the plane

Yeesh. It's really strange how people can be so focused on a task they don't realize what's going on around them. It happens even to people that should know better.
 
I know. What a dumbass the pilot was not to recognize the engine was running and to stop it when she got out.
 
Gonna put the blame on laziness of the husband. He probably didn't want to shut down and have to do the whole start up, so he left the engine running.
 
bflynn said:
I know. What a dumbass the pilot was not to recognize the engine was running and to stop it when she got out.
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The report says he got out first. And left the engine running.
 
I think it’s part of the human condition to disregard instructions.

Impatient husband: I’m not shutting down. You stay in the airplane and I’ll check it out.

I can’t just do what I’m told wife: he really needs my help. Ooh I bet my arm is stronger than this propeller.
 
Couple of questions. Will this qualify as an NTSB investigation? and Will the engine require a tear-down?
 
Oh, something needs to be torn up, but it isn’t just the engine.
 
I have occasionally entered or exited a plane with the engine running. Also had instructors or passengers do it. I am always very careful to approach from the tail toward the door.

But this report is causing me to re-consider this.
 
I’m accustomed to working around running engines. We would crank at sunup hot load all day and shutdown at sunset. It requires a lot of hard, unbroken rules for everyone to live and have their appendages.

The probability of a bad outcome goes up by orders of magnitude when someone spontaneously decides to get out of a running airplane without having planned ahead of time.
 
jallen0 said:
Couple of questions. Will this qualify as an NTSB investigation? and Will the engine require a tear-down?
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My reading of CFR830 and Lycoming SB533C says yes on both counts.
 
PeterNSteinmetz said:
I have occasionally entered or exited a plane with the engine running. Also had instructors or passengers do it. I am always very careful to approach from the tail toward the door.

But this report is causing me to re-consider this.
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If you aren't a crop duster or helicopter pilot, doing repeat loads solo or with an experienced/aware ground crew, seems a bad idea for anyone to exit or even approach the aircraft with the engine running. I've always thought an accident would be a lot more inconvenient than an engine restart.
 
PeterNSteinmetz said:
I have occasionally entered or exited a plane with the engine running. Also had instructors or passengers do it. I am always very careful to approach from the tail toward the door.

But this report is causing me to re-consider this.
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I used to too. It was SOP back when I was a traffic pilot to drop off our reporters before we taxied to the pumps. Everyone was briefed on the process, and I never took my eyes off the reporter or my hand off the mixture until they were far enough a way to no longer be an issue. I didn't love the procedure, but I mitigated the risk as much as possible and turned the airplane so they basically had to walk towards the tail to head into the building.

But would you jump out of the plane while your non-pilot spouse was presumably left at the controls? I know I certainly wouldn't.
 
Brad Z said:
But would you jump out of the plane while your non-pilot spouse was presumably left at the controls? I know I certainly wouldn't.
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Good point. Normally myself or another very experienced pilot is at the controls. Would require a very careful briefing, which was apparently not done in this case.

I wonder how clean the amputation is from this sort of thing and if reattachment surgery would be a possibility. Or if the blow of the blade just shatters the limb?

In any case, I hope for the best recovery possible.
 
The story mentioned the arm and a foot. My guess is that this was not a "clean" cut but something that ripped and tore, causing more severe damage than you might see in a saw. It also repositioned the body which is why the foot was also involved. Also the prop, while moving fast, is really a big dull piece of metal. Finally it greatly depends on where the initial strike occurred at.

Honestly this women is lucky to be alive.
 
Engines running, C-130; we were dropping off a part at another TAC base, but had an issue with the crew entrance door. I opened the ramp and door (tail of the airplane) and stepped out to meet the guys picking up the part. But they were already up by the crew entrance door. Both civilian workers, not used to USAF aircraft with props; the sun was at a bad angle, number 2 prop nearly invisible. . .

One of them saw me, made eye contact and waved, and started toward me. And number 2 prop. I tried to wave him off, shot my right fist straight up for the "stop!" signal - he had no clue what it meant; I waved my arms like a wave off, he hesitated a bit, but I thought he was gonna keep coming. I spun around and ducked, so the brains, bones, blood and viscera wouldn't hit me in the face. . .

After a few seconds, when I hadn't felt or seen any human remains flying past, I looked forward again - he was sitting on the ground, with his buddy kneeling next to him. I was on headset, on the long cord, and called for shutdown. I sat down for a minute, too.

We used to have a poster: "if you never walk through a prop arc, you'll never get hit by a prop".
 
I don’t crop dust or fly reporters. Never even considered exiting my plane with the prop spinning.
 
Scariest thing to happen to me. In Alaska I did a charter in a C-172. 2 passengers, no bags. I landed and when I turned off the dirt landing strip and onto the wide part that is used for the ramp area, I dropped my pencil.

I stopped the plane, shut down and noticed two elderly women and a 2-3 year old little girl standing about 100 feet away. I opened the door to let the passengers out, then closed the door, shoved in the mixture and reached for the key to start the engine. At that time I decided I needed to pick up my pencil, so I reached down and picked it up. As I sat up the little girl came into my sight from under the cowling right next to the prop.

I dam near crapped myself. I got out and led the little girl back to the elderly women, told them to keep children away from the airplanes, then got back in the plane. I was shaking so bad I almost could not get my seatbelt fastened. If I had not reached down to retrieve my pencil.....
 
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