Fatal Injury: hit by the prop

"Slick" wrote in message ...
I think this is why they teach us never to use the brake lock, for
anything.
Instead they tell us to stand on the brakes during run up. You learn real
quick not to follow anyone too close when in line for take off and playing
with charts because you can get distracted and start moving but not notice
it.

What does the parking brake have to do with the pilot walking into the prop?
Getting anywhere near the front of an airplane with a running engine is
something you just don't do.
I'm figuring he did one of two things. It was cold out, so he thought he
would start it first, let the engine idle and warm up while he finished the
walk-around, or he forgot to pull wheel chocks.
There was a prop strike story not too long ago, a pilot left the engine
running at the FBO. He was either picking up or dropping off a young child.
He watched the child walk right into the prop. The moral here is, if anyone
is going to be near the front of the plane, shut it down.

My take on this, is that the engine should be shut down if anyone is
exiting the airplane for any reason. I think that "knowing" that the
prop is there isn't enough. People get distracted, hurried, etc.

This reminds me of a time when I was a kid and watched a friend of mine
stick his fingers into the prop swath of a model airplane. The prop cut
his finger to the bone. I asked him what happened, and he said "I guess
I just forgot it was there because I couldn't see it, and then just
reached in to adjust the idle screw"

I always thought the paint on the prop tips was for decoration until my A&P
had me repaint them. It's there to make the tips visible when they're
spinning.

mike regish

wrote in message
oups.com...

This reminds me of a time when I was a kid and watched a friend of mine
stick his fingers into the prop swath of a model airplane. The prop cut
his finger to the bone. I asked him what happened, and he said "I guess
I just forgot it was there because I couldn't see it, and then just
reached in to adjust the idle screw"

The painted tips make the prop barely visible for day operation in my
opinion. The accident happened at night... not sure how visible the
prop is at night.

I got to thinking, and I just checked my solo certificate - that was
the plane that I soloed last month.

Barely visible is still better than invisible. And the color and pattern you
use could make a difference.

mike regish

wrote in message
oups.com...
The painted tips make the prop barely visible for day operation in my
opinion. The accident happened at night... not sure how visible the
prop is at night.

I got to thinking, and I just checked my solo certificate - that was
the plane that I soloed last month.

wrote:
The painted tips make the prop barely visible for day operation in my
opinion. The accident happened at night... not sure how visible the
prop is at night.


The back of every prop I have ever seen is painted black. Presumably
to not be a distraction to the pilot while flying. Therefore the prop
disc would not be visible from the back. A 172 with the high wing
makes stumbling into the prop while exiting the plane fairly easy. At
least easier than a low wing. I have exited low wing planes with the
engine running on a few occasions and felt safe. Of course I never
walked past the trailing edge of the wing. Would not attempt this on a
hi wing tho.....

j

disc would not be visible from the back. A 172 with the high wing
makes stumbling into the prop while exiting the plane fairly easy. At
least easier than a low wing.

Say What???

You climb out of a 172 and the door is between you and the whirly thing.
Close the door and the wing strut is between you and the whirly thing. You
are talking about the "Cessna 172," right? You couldn't "stumble into the
prop while exiting" even if you were totally s###-faced, and three times
over the legal limit.

"Casey Wilson" N2310D @ gmail.com wrote in message
news:BkYId.5060$BL3.4545@trnddc01...

disc would not be visible from the back. A 172 with the high wing
makes stumbling into the prop while exiting the plane fairly easy. At
least easier than a low wing.

Say What???

You climb out of a 172 and the door is between you and the whirly thing.
Close the door and the wing strut is between you and the whirly thing. You
are talking about the "Cessna 172," right? You couldn't "stumble into the
prop while exiting" even if you were totally s###-faced, and three times
over the legal limit.

This guy is another for the Darwin awards, fancy walking into a propeller

wrote in message ...
A 172 with the high wing makes stumbling into the prop while exiting the
plane fairly easy.
At least easier than a low wing. I have exited low wing planes with the
engine running on a few occasions and felt safe. Of course I never
walked past the trailing edge of the wing. Would not attempt this on a
hi wing tho.....

j

J, I don't really know what kind of high wing your talking about.
The Cessna's that I'm familiar with are not that east to step out of and
walk into the prop.
First you have the door that makes you step back away from the prop.
Second you have the landing gear that makes you step further back from the
prop.
Third you have the wing spar that gets in the way of a clear path to the
prop.

Now on a low wing I can climb down forward of the wing if I choose with no
obstacles to
keep me from doing so, or climb back up on the low wing from the front of
the wing.
Now if I should stumble forward while getting down or backward while getting
up, I would
end up right into the prop.

Now that should end the Low-wing vs. High-wing safety issues.

The real point here is that you should stay away from any running engines
(Prop or Jet).
Even car engines are dangerous places to get next to while running.

David (KORL)

My take is the same - shut it down before anyone gets in or out. And
I've seen the model airplane thing more than once.

However, a discussion here some years ago drew a lot of posts from
people who get in and out all the time with the engine running. Their
arguments seemed sound but....

I concluded that for me, I will always shut it down. If you are
involved in an operation where you do it routinely and you've worked out
some reasonable procedures, go ahead. But for me, any reason I will
have for someone to get in or out is an exception, and that's when there
is a strong likehood of screwing up.

wrote:
My take on this, is that the engine should be shut down if anyone is
exiting the airplane for any reason. I think that "knowing" that the
prop is there isn't enough. People get distracted, hurried, etc.

This reminds me of a time when I was a kid and watched a friend of mine
stick his fingers into the prop swath of a model airplane. The prop cut
his finger to the bone. I asked him what happened, and he said "I guess
I just forgot it was there because I couldn't see it, and then just
reached in to adjust the idle screw"