Fatal: walked into prop

That's what I was having trouble wrapping my head around... the article isn't terribly clear as to if he was the pilot, or if it was a charter flight. I can't imagine a pilot getting out while the engine is running under any normal circumstance, nor walking towards the spinning ginsu. And if it was a charter flight who lets their passengers out while engine is still running.
 
Ryan Klems said:
That's what I was having trouble wrapping my head around... the article isn't terribly clear as to if he was the pilot, or if it was a charter flight. I can't imagine a pilot getting out while the engine is running under any normal circumstance, nor walking towards the spinning ginsu. And if it was a charter flight who lets their passengers out while engine is still running.
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Someone who does not like to do hot starts. Sad. Just stupid
 
Story doesn’t make any sense at all, except that it’s very sad. So needless.
 
Happened in my original hometown. Haven't lived there in a long time, but the school the guy attended, the airport, the town, are familiar to me. Sounds like he rented something like a Cessna with doors on both sides
 
I presented a talk at a trauma society meeting years ago where I had reviewed 280+ propeller injuries, actually going to the NTSB office in Washington, DC to look through records. I somehow lost my slides from the presentation, but I recall the main point was the nearly 2/3rds of all propeller related injuries were people walking into spinning propellers, and most of those were fatal. I had expected to find a higher percentage of hand propping or other mechanical related causes. With helicopters all but one of those injuries involved people walking into the tail rotor while being careful to duck under the main rotor.

My interest in the topic was spawned by finding that the new owner of my C172 had been hospitalized after turning the prop over during his preflight and getting his necktie caught in the prop, which caused a serious injury to his arm and shoulder.
 
When I learned to fly, and when I was an instructor…. We always ingrained in folks NEVER to walk through the prop arc when not running.. It was a hard discipline.

I am flabbergasted to see folks talking pics with arms hanging through the arc. That was just a huge no for me. Its all about proper habits.
 
The article has been updated; it says that the pilot himself walked into the propeller. But, hey, journalism, so who knows.
Edit: there are two with his name in the pilot database, neither are likely him, given his age.
 
This reads like some sort of charter, where the victim paid for a plane to carry him and his date as passengers. I wonder if the flight was legal.
 
Some 20+ years ago, this happened to my business partner's wife as she deplaned (he was the pilot, 2 passenger in the backseats).
She was instantly decapitated. He was quite understandably never right after that, it was years before I could ask him about it.
I still get sick just thinking about it.
 
My Dad was a Navy pilot, flying piston aircraft. I was taught from the first time I got to go on the ramp, that you treated EVERY prop as if it were turning. And TO STAY AWAY FROM THEM.

I have done operations where we exchanged passengers with the engine running, but with 1 to 1 guide and pax ratio. 172, and approach from the right rear with guide at the door/strut. And one hand on the mixture
 
Kritchlow said:
When I learned to fly, and when I was an instructor…. We always ingrained in folks NEVER to walk through the prop arc when not running.. It was a hard discipline.

I am flabbergasted to see folks talking pics with arms hanging through the arc. That was just a huge no for me. Its all about proper habits.
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Just like guns don't shoot themselves, an unmoving prop won't start itself. It's fine to be in the arc as long as you are aware of who's in the cockpit, and aware of impulse couplings and how they work. There are many, many valid reasons where being in the arc is a necessity, preflight and maintenance being large portions of that.
 
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I've done hot deplaning, only with Mrs. Steingar. Just wanted to drop her at the FBO to get some AC, want to make flight comfortable so she'd do more. She was briefed carefully to exit the aircraft to the rear and not to return for anything including if the airplane was actively on fire.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Who wears a tie to fly a 172?
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He was a resident in orthopedics and was just going for a mid-day flight. I recognized my old plane and asked about him. The FBO told me that he had loaned the plane to a friend who lost the keys and managed to hotwire it to return it to Charlottesville, but the owner forgot that the mags were hot when he turned the prop. :eek:
 
I knew a guy who was re-building a Globe Swift. He had the prop turn over with NO GAS in the engine or airframe. It popped over with WD-40 in the cylinders.
 
tobnpr said:
Some 20+ years ago, this happened to my business partner's wife as she deplaned (he was the pilot, 2 passenger in the backseats).
She was instantly decapitated. He was quite understandably never right after that, it was years before I could ask him about it.
I still get sick just thinking about it.
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Ugh. That’s awful. A long time ago when I was a primary student, the other CFI at my flight school walked into the prop of an Arrow that he was sitting on the wing of after helping the PIC get it started when he realized a diamond motor glider taxiing by was a bit too close with the wingtip. He reacted quickly to the perceived danger, and just jumped off the wing and ran straight through the prop arc trying to wave the other pilot down. I wasn’t there when it happened but it was pretty awful since it was a very small flight school with two CFIs and I knew him reasonably well.
 
Here is an accident overview of the one I was talking about.
https://planecrashmap.com/plane/pa/N56639/

I bring it up because this guy was a cfi and knew better but he saw an unexpected risk and just reacted too fast without thinking and it was all over in a second. It’s a good reminder that freak accidents happen and to really minimize the chances.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
The article has been updated; it says that the pilot himself walked into the propeller. But, hey, journalism, so who knows.
Edit: there are two with his name in the pilot database, neither are likely him, given his age.
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He may have been a pilot, but unless the ATL FSDO made an error, he wasn’t the PIC for the flight.
 
flyingron said:
Try not to get your epaulettes stuck in the prop either.

When I was learning to fly, one of the mechanics on field walked into the turning prop of an MU-2 he was working on. It wasn't pretty.
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In the cases I looked at one of the worst was a dispatcher that was delivering an envelope to the pilot and walked into the prop on a twin where the props is inches from the fuselage. The blades were feathered and the impact caused very extensive damage to the aircraft (maybe totaled, but I don't remember).
 
Kritchlow said:
When I learned to fly, and when I was an instructor…. We always ingrained in folks NEVER to walk through the prop arc when not running.. It was a hard discipline.

I am flabbergasted to see folks talking pics with arms hanging through the arc. That was just a huge no for me. Its all about proper habits.
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When I was a student, my CFI taught me the same thing and to always exit to the rear of the aircraft. When I first soloed, he got out with the engine running and that still made me nervous.

The guy I bought my company from had a tenant in his hangar with a T-28. He also had a Jack Russell terrier that hated deep sounding engines. One day the tenant started his T-28 right out side the front door. The dog jumped the door fence and ran to the front of the aircraft and was jumping towards the prop, but the forward wash kept the dog from going into the prop. He'd jump and fly a few feet back. Did this at least ten times. Me and others were yelling to try to get the attention of the pilot but he was busy talking to his passenger. The dog's owner ran out and grabbed his dog. One of the scariest moments I've ever experienced. Next day we went into the hangar and up to the prop and he said "that wasn't one of the smartest things I've ever done."
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Just like guns don't shoot themselves, an unmoving prop won't start itself. It's fine to be in the arc as long as you are aware of who's in the cockpit, and aware of impulse couplings and how they work. There are many, many valid reasons where being in the arc is a necessity, preflight and maintenance being large portions of that.
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The big radials would apparently pop one cylinder some random time after shutdown. Would not make one rotation, but even so, a 14 foot diameter prop hitting you will not be good.

The Navy had a number of people killed from this.
 
Harder, but not impossible to walk into the prop arc due to the beer holder surfaces. You just automatically steer clear-“ish”. Still doesn’t mean a hand or arm can’t cross the arc.

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Just to echo what others have said. Did 20 years in Uncle Sam’s Canoe Club. Was taught never break the prop arc running or not. Preflighting and hooking up the tow bar, it happens but try to minimize it. Thankfully never witnessed the aftermath of human versus prop. Hope to heck I never do. Be safe out there!
 
What a horrific story. Hot starts cannot be that tough to take this kind of risk.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
Just like guns don't shoot themselves, an unmoving prop won't start itself. It's fine to be in the arc as long as you are aware of who's in the cockpit, and aware of impulse couplings and how they work. There are many, many valid reasons where being in the arc is a necessity, preflight and maintenance being large portions of that.
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I respectfully disagree. There is no reason to cross the arc on preflight.
At least none that I can think of, and I instructed in small airplanes for several years.

We even had a rule to put the keys on the dash so you could see them (not in the ignition) when coming close to the arc… which was necessary.
 
Kritchlow said:
I respectfully disagree. There is no reason to cross the arc on preflight.
At least none that I can think of, and I instructed in small airplanes for several years.

We even had a rule to put the keys on the dash so you could see them (not in the ignition) when coming close to the arc… which was necessary.
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Do you just visually look for an alternator belt or do you also verify it is tensioned? I check the belt is tensioned when I pre-flight. That is a valid reason to cross the arc in my book.
 
John Spartan said:
Do you just visually look for an alternator belt or do you also verify it is tensioned? I check the belt is tensioned when I pre-flight. That is a valid reason to cross the arc in my book.
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Nope. Stand behind the prop and reach around.
Keep arm behind the arc.
 
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