Why do prop accidents like this happen?

That is horrible... What are the rules for pedestrians on a tarmac?

 

Toronto Intl Airport, I worked for Innotech handling corporate jets. It was Christmas Day, a Cessna 210 arrived and went to one ramp where nobody came out. They came to our ramp. The husband and wife, were both American Airline pilots, with their two children in the backseat.

The lady, stepped out, the Cessna 210 has no wing struts, and promptly walked into the propeller, killing her instantly.

I've personally seen, a guy get grazed by a Bonanza Prop, sent to hospital but survived, and a guy walk thru the moving propeller of a winding down PT-6 of a twin-otter, when he realized what he was doing, he turned, stepped back, and was quickly knocked out by the still moving propeller.

All I can tell you, is it happens all the time!

A quick side story, we used to have a Turbo Beaver on floats in our hangar. Anytime I needed in the airplane, I'd jump on the floats from the front. One day he was taxiing out, and someone handed me an important message for him. He stopped the plane with engine running. I came within a fraction of a second from jumping of the float from the front, as I'd done a hundred times - except the prop was running!!!!

The bottom line, is your not thinking, and you can't see the prop.

 

A couple of years ago a mecahnic was hit by a prop of a (KLM) Fokker 50 at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. He, I thought, lost his arm and part of his shoulder and suffered severe braindamage, but survived. Thing is, it was the righthand prop, the side of the external power receptacle. This guy was either disconnecting or connecting it and tripped over. This made the Royal Netherlands Air Force change their SOP's. Instead of starting the RH engine first, they changed it to start the LH engine first, then disconnected the external power and started number 2, all to make it safer for ground crew. Strange enough, KLM didn't change their SOP's following this accident.

As long as there are engines running it is dangerous.

 

NEVER, EVER walk in an area covered by the propellors arc, engine running or not. Treat it like a loaded gun. The Mechanic

 

I couldnt agree more.
The only time I even come close is on preflight inspection and I make sure I have the Keys for the Magnetos in my hand or in my pocket.

 

I think that I have i have talked too much in this chat room but i feel that I should comment on propeller injuries and deaths. Too many times it's a case of what you don't see ain't there. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the pilot to warn and control his passengers to assure that they exit the aircraft in the safest manner, ie. 90 deg to the yaw axis of the aircraft with a high wing and behind the trailing edge of a twin tractor. Passengers don't think about the configuration of the aircraft and are concerned about what they have to do and take off in the most direct heading to accomplish their goal...and forget about the prop.
When I was in the air force a million years ago I saw a boy lose his ear when he fell back after yanking a chock out of place. He was lucky that the blade didn't get his shoulder or arm. Then there was the incident when a fire guard turned to leave his duty and walked into the prop being turned by an R1830 on a B-24. It is simply a matter of thinking.

 

The rules are almost always (excluding rare setups or situations) only flightcrew and passengers on the tarmac and they are to proceed directly to the aircraft. Passengers are usually escorted by the flightcrew or FBO personnel as most passengers have no idea what to do or where to go. Accidents at airports are the same as everywhere else: They happen when you get complacent or in a rush.

 

Then there's this type of propeller accident:
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I had a near miss when I was taxiing into the apron in a Stearman, Lycoming power and a steel McCauley prop. Taxiing out was a Cub with a guy in it digging around in the bilge for something and not paying one bit of attention to where he was going, which was straight at me. I stopped and tried to turn the airplane that I was in but there wasn't enough space to do anything. Luckily the kid looked up in time to see the big biplane in his windshield and hit the brakes. We were so close that he had to get someone to pull him back from near disaster. I have seen too many incidents and near incidents and they are all a case of not watching or not thinking. Turning propellers are brutal instruments.