Woman hit by landing airplane. Fatal
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Lindberg
Final Approach
I agree that's for sure the best practice, just as that document says.
Checkout_my_Six
Touchdown! Greaser!
maybe they were coming in for a closer cut....?
Long established FAA guidance. From a legal standpoint, vehicle operations on public airports below the Part 139 threshold are defined by state or local rules. Most local/state rules require the use of the same established guidance on airport vehicle movements as the Part 139 airports use. And that guidance gives the right-away to aircraft and the fault of any vehicle incident on the operator especially in an AOA or defined critical area.
Was operating a Cessna 170 at night at IAD. I'm crossing midfield and one of the mobile lounges used for interterminal shuttle is bearing down on me. I start to slow to let it pass in front of me when the instructor says "keep your speed up, aircraft have the rigth of way." The owner of the 170 happened to be in the back seat and reached forward and clicked on the strobes. The lounge locks up the brakes and I can see the standees tipping over.
Lindberg
Final Approach
The NTSB did not mention that in either the Ryan vs. Mower accident linked above or the 172 vs. Minivan accident at 52F a few years ago.
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I think it was mentioned in the context of the NTSB report/findings summary of this accident. Now in this current accident whether the driver will be a contributing factor like the Ryan one or the actual probable cause will be interesting to read.
dbahn
Pattern Altitude
Sorry to respond to my own post for emphasis, but apparently this Bonanza flew straight-in from over seven miles from the field. You can't see much from there, especially if you're busy configuring for landing.
But still, that's not an excuse for this accident.
sourdough44
En-Route
Doesn’t mean it’s true, this article says the pilot spotted the mower ‘on the runway’? I have a friend, lives at a private air park, kinda quiet. There are rules, but there are also those that can’t help but go across the runway. This could be on a mower, walking a dog, whatever.
I’d like to know the area of the accident? Was the mower on the runway itself? I can see the issue about overflight before landing, discussion but not exactly right or wrong. I fly at times to a quiet, uncontrolled field in MI. As much as for critters as anything, I like to fly a partial pattern to get a look at things before landing.
I’d like to know the area of the accident? Was the mower on the runway itself? I can see the issue about overflight before landing, discussion but not exactly right or wrong. I fly at times to a quiet, uncontrolled field in MI. As much as for critters as anything, I like to fly a partial pattern to get a look at things before landing.
Attachments
An updated story. The woman worked for the parks department.
www.nbcnews.com
City manager unsurprisingly clearly knows nothing about airport ops.
"the city will place preventative measures in place if they're deemed necessary"
Like a NOTAM? How bout give the employee's headphones tuned to ctaf?
Oklahoma mom killed after being hit by the wing of a small plane while on a lawn mower at airport
Samantha Hayes, 27, who worked for the Broken Bow Parks Department, was described on social media as a single mother of three who worked hard and cherished her children.
www.nbcnews.com
City manager unsurprisingly clearly knows nothing about airport ops.
"the city will place preventative measures in place if they're deemed necessary"
Like a NOTAM? How bout give the employee's headphones tuned to ctaf?
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Albany Tom
Unfortunately, as I understand it, OSHA does not cover state or local government. I'm not a fan of over-regulation, but I don't see any reason to exempt locals from the same rules that business have to follow. In this case, I'd bet lunch money that that woman had no idea what the risks were, and that's tragic. Nobody should be put into a work environment where they don't understand and accept the risks they face.
Correct, the federal OSHA only covers private employers and the federal government itself. However, Oklahoma has it's own PEOSH program that provides similar coverage to state/local government employees.'
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Bro do you even lift
are you saying she didn’t know planes land on runways at airports?
midwestpa24
Final Approach
I don't believe there is a specific FAR, but ground vehicles always have to yield to aircraft...period.
Grum.Man
En-Route
I doubt either of those would have solved the conflict as she probably knows nothing of airplane radio traffic and a NOTAM isn't going to make him see someone. The rest of the facts need to come out. As has already been mentioned, given the runway and airplane there is no way the two should have crossed paths unless the plane was off the edge or the mower was on the runway. At least in NC, vehicles like Mowers operating near roads have to have strobes/caution lighting installed so they can be visible from any angle. Not everybody can afford an enclosed cab mower but the ideal situation would be one of those lit up like a parade float with a radio tuned to the CTAF.An updated story. The woman worked for the parks department.
Oklahoma mom killed after being hit by the wing of a small plane while on a lawn mower at airport
Samantha Hayes, 27, who worked for the Broken Bow Parks Department, was described on social media as a single mother of three who worked hard and cherished her children.
City manager unsurprisingly clearly knows nothing about airport ops.
"the city will place preventative measures in place if they're deemed necessary"
Like a NOTAM? How bout give the employee's headphones tuned to ctaf
Lindberg
Final Approach
It's important that we all follow the same, suggested set of rules, not those we make up.
Specific FARs are what create the right-of-way rules. You should definitely tell everyone operating on the ground at your airport to yield to aircraft. But telling pilots that there's such a rule, when one doesn't exist, can be dangerous.
midwestpa24
Final Approach
The guidance airports have is Advisory Circular 150/5210-20, which is incorporated by reference for Part 139 Airports and is industry best practice for the rest.
"It should be stressed that aircraft ALWAYS have the right-of-way over vehicles when maneuvering on non-movement areas. Aircraft also have the right-of-way on the movement areas, except when the Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) has specifically instructed an aircraft to hold or give way to vehicle(s) on a runway or taxiway."
Lindberg
Final Approach
A legion of things that are true at tower-controlled airports are not true as a general rule. There is no "non-movement" or "movement" area at the airports I commonly fly into and out of (nor at the vast majority of US airports).
Not from what I've seen. There are a multitude of guidance and rules that do not apply to pilots. In general, accidents happen because one or both parties do not follow their specific guidance. Telling a pilot that ground traffic is required to yield to aircraft does not relieve the pilot of his guidance or regulatory responsibilities. The Ryan post above is a good example of that. And there are many more.
True. But you’ll find that for those public airports that do not fall under Part 139, the state will have a statute or guidance that requires public airports to follow. And most use the same Part 139 guidance as a foundation. Below is one example.
Now whether that specific public airport follows the required state guidance is for another thread. But in this thread it will be interesting what the OK state aeronautics laws/guidance state on public airport maintenance personal working in and around active runways.
Roland Donnell
Pre-Flight
I'll add as somewhat germane to the discussion that a least one half of one runway (and anything on it) I’m personally familiar with was hidden from view at the touch down zones due to the crown in the middle.
As far as human factors dragging a shredder along a runway on a lurching tractor enveloped in a cloud of dirt and chaff on a 100 degree day in anticipation of being paid one hour of flight instruction combined with the fearless immortality of a 20 plus year old I was more interested in chasing the rats than looking for planes.
I’m pretty sure a single mom of three had the weight of distractions as well and we have all probably seen loss of control landing aircraft veering well off the runway. Landings near anything with a brain close to the runway is less predictable especially when our field of vision changes to being laser focused on a center line during final approach.
As far as human factors dragging a shredder along a runway on a lurching tractor enveloped in a cloud of dirt and chaff on a 100 degree day in anticipation of being paid one hour of flight instruction combined with the fearless immortality of a 20 plus year old I was more interested in chasing the rats than looking for planes.
I’m pretty sure a single mom of three had the weight of distractions as well and we have all probably seen loss of control landing aircraft veering well off the runway. Landings near anything with a brain close to the runway is less predictable especially when our field of vision changes to being laser focused on a center line during final approach.
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Rich Holt
Line Up and Wait
After nearly two decades of working as a safety manager of some sort, I find myself firmly in the camp that believes all warning labels should be removed and let nature take its course. I might be in the minority here, however.
psween
Pre-takeoff checklist
I'm always a bit paranoid when mowing my grass strip, even though only myself and two hangar mates use it. We are charted as private but the strip has been here since well before we bough it, so there are some old timers around that knew the previous owner and sometimes drop in for a few touch and goes. On the tractor I can't hear much and nobody uses the radio for a private grass strip with no CTAF. Maybe I need to put a strobe on top of my tractor roll bar? Sad situation all around...
GaryM
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Gary M
Strobes, rotating beacons...I'd light that thing up like a Christmas tree. Cheap insurance.
BMan
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BMan
"Warning labels defeat the effectiveness of natural selection." That's my wisdom-driven tag line for life.
midwestpa24
Final Approach
Part 139 also includes many un-towered airports.
By definition of movement versus non-movement area, all airports have these areas. They just are not delineated on a map. Which also breaks down to semantics when the AC states, "aircraft ALWAYS have the right-of-way over vehicles when maneuvering on non-movement areas. Aircraft also have the right-of-way on the movement areas"
At our airport, all mower operators have a handheld and headset and are not authorized to operate in the safety area when aircraft are using that runway.
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Albany Tom
Nope. I'm saying she likely had no idea that she had any chance of being hit by an aircraft while mowing the grass beside the runway. Why would anyone, that isn't a pilot?
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3G
Huh? If I’m mowing the front lawn, I know there’s a chance I’ll be hit by somebody driving down the street in my quiet little neighborhood.
Same concept applies. Commercial/industrial mowing is chock full of all kinds of hazards. Whether a person wants to honor those threats is whole different question.
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Albany Tom
If this were a private contractor mowing the grass, I'd agree. It's their responsibility to assess the hazards of their environment.
But this wasn't a contractor, this was a county or city employee, so I disagree. Standard practice for any employer is to assess risks for their employees and make sure they understand those risks and the controls around them. At least around here, if mowing crews are working on highway right of ways, they're going to have lights on the vehicles, and depending on the road signs up to warn motorists, and even sometimes extra police protection. And this is for risks that are understood by the general public, more or less. I'm willing to bet that the employee had safety training for mowing, and was familiar with operation around vehicle traffic...and had absolutely no training at all about airport operations. So they made an assumption that there was no elevated risk. Given that, and that they aren't a pilot, I think it would be reasonable for the mower to believe that the airplanes were going to stay on the runway, and that they had no additional risk, again because they hadn't been advised of any.
Any pilot know should know that being on or close to a runway is dangerous, and that your primary protection for that isn't a radio but having your head on a swivel. Non-pilots just don't know that. I've seen the assumption in many people that if you're not actually standing on the runway you're fine, and that's clearly not true.
This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, because over the years I've seen people hurt because a manager asked them to do something that they didn't have the training or equipment to do safely and it's led to disaster. If you have people working for you, it's your job to take reasonable precautions to keep them safe. I don't mean safety n*tzi, but I do mean exercising some common sense...and yeah, I hold managers to a higher standard than the employee. Here, I don't know if the pilot made a mistake, but I'm pretty sure the manager did, and if they didn't, that this wouldn't have happened.
The above is 3 times longer than it should be, maybe 6...too lazy to edit it down, apologies.
midcap
Pattern Altitude
you need to ad ADS-B out to your mower my guy
skyking3286
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skyking3286
Quote: "interterminal shuttle is bearing down on me. I start to slow to let it pass in front of me when the instructor says "keep your speed up, aircraft have the right of way."
OK, I'm aghast that a CFI would think that way when there is a dangerous situation coming. It's not the time to think that everyone is reading the same book you are or sees the same thing. The quality of ADM among some CFIs. . . When in doubt, chicken out is the rule.
OK, I'm aghast that a CFI would think that way when there is a dangerous situation coming. It's not the time to think that everyone is reading the same book you are or sees the same thing. The quality of ADM among some CFIs. . . When in doubt, chicken out is the rule.
RyanShort1
Final Approach
Why? If he was too low for a go-around high-enough to miss, perhaps his judgment was that slowing down would more likely put the vehicle in front of the prop as opposed to the fuselage or empennage. You don't always have time to say everything that might cross your mind as an instructor, sometimes you just need to say something, fast.
My only nit is that employees have the innate ability to not comprehend what you're saying. I go through it everyday. I'll go over a job and be very clear what we need to watch out for and what precautions we need to take. 15 minutes later I'll catch them doing exactly what I warned them not to do. Sometimes things don't resonate with people until they have a close call, despite your best efforts to prevent it beforehand.
Yes, we were taxiing probably on what now is called C (formerly Tango 3).
RyanShort1
Final Approach
Ah, that makes more sense and isn’t great…