It is very sad that this happened, but how do you get out of a plane and then walk into the propellor ?

http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/12/woman-injured-after-walking-in.html

I guess she isn't as observant as she is pretty.

You'd have to be deaf and think airplanes fly because of magic to do that LOL

That sucks, hope she is doing good.

I admit I have a hard time understanding how one can be so absent-minded as to walk into a running prop.

Her injuries sound very bad, hope she recovers fully.

Maybe she was too fixated on her cellphone to notice?

Still hope she recovers, but what a serious mistake!

There are a lot of hazards around aircraft that we can brush off as saying how can someone have done that. I always find it hard to criticize anyone for any mistake/incident unless you know they blatantly were negligent. If she was unfamiliar with aircraft and not used to working in an aviation/airport environment I can easily see how if she was not focused on the aircraft and her surroundings she could have walked into the prop, especially on a high wing model. I remember an incident where a crewman exited an aircraft to check something and he was so task focused we exited the aircraft door and turned left directly into the prop (twin turbine).

Same reason as a pic you may brief a passenger in a helicopter not to exit to the front or rear of the aircaft.

Hope she recovers, sad she lost her hand.

It was night. It's pretty easy to walk into things at night, and it's pretty easy to walk into dangerous things when you're not really all that aware of the dangers (most people aren't).

Yeah i can see it happening. Even as a helicopter mechanic in the Army the rare occasions I was able to fly, we were always briefed about ducking down as we egress the helicopter and to not walk towards the back.
I'd almost bet she wasn't told which way to go.

Here Here ...

As dumb as all of us can be with simple operations and the supposedly "Common Sense" (of which there is no such thing IMO as when you really look at it ...It's learnt experience. We are all born with none).

I personally find this a tragic incident and perhaps not something of which should be jestered ... Not saying this is the case.

However, .... Ours would be a sensitive and compassionate community if we could manage to keep it this way.

Just my view

In the dark, and it having been probably an enjoyable "fun flight" seeing Christmas lights, it's not hard to imagine.

Also issues to consider like how the pilot placed his aircraft after the flight (as I understand from the police statement, the pilot was dropping of this lady and picking up another passenger for a tour). If the nose of the aircraft was pointing toward the passenger terminal/building, they would have to walk right past the prop. A "tail in" placement might make such an accident less likely, if the engine must be left running during passenger entry/exit.

One statement I heard said the lady may have been returning to the plane to thank the pilot for the trip.

Unfortunate, I wish her all the best in recovery.

A spinning prop in the dark is invisible and she may not have been aircraft safety conscious. I knew a guy who lost his arm in the Navy aboard an Aircraft Carrier at night on the Hanger Deck. He was aware of the danger but with noise and night lighting he made a mistake, it happens. The story also says she got skull fractures and facial lacerations besides losing her hand, so it was very bad.

We make mistakes everyday, we lose our train of thought, we lose our focus. Unfortunately, some environments are not so forgiving. There are always contributing factors, but mistakes happen and always will. The best preventative measures in aviation are thorough briefings and familiarization. Even (I think especially) for general aviation, it is good to take the extra time to familiarize yourself on what you are doing/going to do as well as your passengers. Egress is something we always brief (we fly different types) even for routine flights. If you do it routinely, it will become part of your routine. It is always tragic to learn of an accident of this type, I'm just glad she was not killed outright, and hopefully will recover.

texting?

sorry to hear of such a mishap, but certainly understand how it could happen. I saw a seasoned deck hand lean over a buoy that was staged to be released after the chain keeper had been opened. Chain was being pulled off the deck as the large concrete weight sank in free fall. when the chain reached its end and pulled the nun buoy over it launced the boatswains mate about 6 feet into the air. He had done that several hundred time with no problem, but saw something on the buoy that he wanted to get off before it went in the water. I hope the woman recovers as well as possible, considering her injuries.

Having seen how insanely inattentive the general public is to construction sites dangers...I'm surprised this propeller incident doesn't happen more often. The general public has lost a great deal of it's survival instincts. Most have lost the ability to recognize any potential dangers.

Wow I am sorry to hear this, She could have died, I know in Campbell we had few tail rotors incedents so I can understand how a civi could be oblivious to the danger.



Bullet

Not entirely her fault. Why didn't the pilot shut down before pax exited and entered? Too hard? Certainly not. And I say this with 2000hrs charter pilot experience, 7 sectors per day average where fatigue was always a gremlin waiting to strike.

She had prop strike to head, possible brain injuries, really not good.

you guys must also realise unlike in footage, planes props in moviment are hard to catch to human eye if they do not have those marking paints,it is possible she to walked too close and even got her hair pulled,since they mentioned fractured skull, face laceration and amputation of hand, my theory is her hair was caught,she tried to pull back with the hand,and lost it,she was "lucky" she wasnt decapitated right there and then, tough for someone who worked on fashion,the face scars will serverely scar her ego and pride,she will need intensive psicologic treatment after that.

What a horrible accident.


Wheels