Model walks into propeller

God bless her.

But WOW, where have you been, PHOEN$X!?

You haven't started a thread in ages and hardly spoken these couple of years.:confused:
 
Wow that is terrible.:frown: I cannot believe the pilot allowed her to deplane when the props were still spinning. My prayers go to her and her family. I hope she has a complete recovery.
 
It's not the first time this is happened, and it's not going to be the last. It's just this time it was a hot chick. :cool:

I have left the engine running while dropping off people (hot starts are sometimes a bitch with air cooled airplane engines) but I always look them square in the eyes and tell them "the prop is running - I want you to get out and walk straight out PAST the end of the wing" and make sure they confirm they heard what I said. With a twin, I would usually shut down the right engine as it's not pleasant trying to walk down on the wing with the prop slipstream.

She had a pretty hot body, so she'll still do OK. :biggrin: <--- did you expect anything less from me?
 
Last edited:
Certainly a horrible accident and the girl is lucky to be alive although it will unfortunately change her young life forever.

Whether a hot start is mechanically convenient or not, it is simply less important than passenger safety. Human life is more important than a flight schedule, despite the conduct of some commerical airlines...

I think the interesting question as a matter of formal procedure and legality is when is the pilot responsible for the passenger on a non-commercial flight?

Is it the moment they cross a magic "red line" threshold onto the tarmac when traversing from "terminal" to plane and plane to "terminal"? or when they board/unboard from the aircraft?

Does the boat captain see his passengers to the dock or to the shore?
 
Last edited:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/socia...n-scruggs-model-walk_n_1131211_122045309.html

Apparently this was the type of aircraft that was involved. I can see how it might happen to someone if they're disoriented and it's night time. I can't believe how callous some of the commenters are though. CL65 Captain, how common are these types of accidents? I'd think that if you're a pilot, just hearing about one of these accidents is enough to make sure it never happens to any of your passengers.

big_3122_N57NH.JPG
 
...Hehe, I've been busy...caught up with life like everyone else. It's great to have time to read this forum again. :)

Good to see you more active again, it's always nice to see old timers around.

Me, too, have had left Prime for a good 3 years until I resurfaced again last year. Just can't forget about this site. :wink:
 
uhm, that's pretty gross.

I took care of a chick who got mauled by a boat propeller. When she came in, it looked like her head was going to fall off her neck.. It was that bad

http://www.jcl.com/content/news/newsEvents.htm?inCtx17view=2&page_id=256&inCtx17news_id=259

Read all about me :biggrin:

"Dr. Ferrara was amazing and deserves a lot of credit," commented reconstructive hand surgeon Lloyd Champagne, MD, “but the champion is the anesthesiologist.

Good job Dr Peiser! That's pretty awesome!
 

Not very common. Once in a blue moon you read a NTSB report about someone being killed walking into a running prop. However, it must have been a big problem in the military when you had lots of young kids running around servicing a plane as every WWII fighter/bomber I have ever seen has the prop tips painted either yellow or white so you can see the outline of the prop "disc" when they are running.

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XiW4t-03_2Y?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Usually, these types of accidents occur when people are hand propping a plane and a bad magneto ground causes them to start accidentally on their own - like push starting a car.

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/k_elvlp6yV8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

See how you can see the arc of the prop while it's running when the tips are painted....

p51-4473420-main.jpg
 
Last edited:
Very cool videos, Captain. I imagine those painted tips are hard to see at night though. This reminds me of my grade school shop teacher, who warned us that oscillating blades are invisible to the eye at certain frequencies, and to always treat them as if they're turning. I guess that was probably not on this girl's mind as she exited the plane after touring Christmas lights. Very sad.
 
Very cool videos, Captain. I imagine those painted tips are hard to see at night though. This reminds me of my grade school shop teacher, who warned us that oscillating blades are invisible to the eye at certain frequencies, and to always treat them as if they're turning. I guess that was probably not on this girl's mind as she exited the plane after touring Christmas lights. Very sad.


Actually, they are more pronounced at night with the strobe lights on. Strobe lights make a running prop look like a solid disk - weird effect.

Have you ever seen people getting on or off a helicopter when the blades are turning? They always duck down even though there is no chance they will hit them. Most people have the same reaction when they are around a running aircraft, but it does happen.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/r/24785109/detail.html

http://nycaviation.com/2011/10/indonesian-man-killed-by-plane-propeller/
 
Last edited:
You're right, strobe lighting does seem to make the rotating blades appear more visible at night. As an engineer I'm curious to find out exactly what happened, and how to prevent these types of gruesome accidents in the future.

<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xjCHf5YBqVI?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xjCHf5YBqVI?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object>
 
That was the reason they added the Red Rotating beacon. When ever the beacon is on means the engine is running - from small props to big jets.

cessna-172-tail-nav-lights.jpg
 
BTW: The little design on the intake horn of jets is for the same reason of painting the tips on props - so you can see when it's spinning.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uNcWwUUk5Vw?rel=0&hd=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Last edited:
BTW: The little design on the intake horn of jets is for the same reason of painting the tips on props - so you can see when it's spinning.

jet-engine-optical-illusion.jpg

Cool stuff. I guess being in the aviation industry you're aware of these things. Most civilians don't have a clue. I have a lot more respect for pilots and aircraft personnel now. :biggrin:
 
She makes Jay Leno look like he has a small chin.

Really? A young girl is badly hurt by a tragic accident and all you can do is make fun of her physical features. :rolleyes:

That was the reason they added the Red Rotating beacon. When ever the beacon is on means the engine is running - from small props to big jets.

cessna-172-tail-nav-lights.jpg

That rear rotating beacon isn't going to do much good when you ar facing the front.
 
That rear rotating beacon isn't going to do much good when you are facing the front.

Ever hear a quiet airplane? Me neither.

She knew the engine was running, she just got out of the plane.

It happens, people have brain farts and don't think. Only when you are around airplanes, chainsaws, guns, motorcycles, cars and a whole bunch of other things the consequences are catastrophic.

My sympathies to the family, it's a game changer but at least it's not game over.
 
Last edited:
Ever hear a quiet airplane? Me neither.

She knew the engine was running, she just got out of the plane.

It happens, people have brain farts and don't think. Only when you are around airplanes, chainsaws, guns, motorcycles, cars and a whole bunch of other things the consequences are catastrophic.

My sympathies to the family, it's a game changer but at least it's not game over.

Agreed. She still has her whole life in front of her. I hope they were able to do some good reconstructive surgery and save her eye. I read that she has lost her hand. :frown:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/lauren-scruggs-tragedy-parents-speak-models-propeller-accident/story?id=15093570

I can't imagine how her mom felt waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
 
Back
Top