14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, June 01, 2014 in Middletown, OH
Probable Cause Approval Date: 10/27/2014
Aircraft: DEHAVILLAND DHC 6 200, registration: N223AL
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The skydiving airplane was on a ramp with its engines operating while the pilot waited for passengers to board. The pilot asked an employee of the skydiving operator if he could order something to eat for lunch. The employee responded that she had time to come see the pilot at the airplane because she was expecting a small delay before the next flight. The pilot thought the delay was not long enough to justify shutting down the engines. The pilot observed the employee exit the manifest office and run toward the airplane. The skydiving operator typically flew single-engine airplanes with the propeller located in front of the cockpit; however, the accident airplane was a twin-engine airplane with its propellers located under each wing. The operator’s employee subsequently walked into the operating propeller under the airplane’s left wing, sustaining fatal injuries.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The skydiving operator employee’s failure to see and avoid the rotating propeller blades when she walked toward the cockpit while the airplane’s engines were running.
The local MWO skydiving operator, Start Skydiving LLC, contracted with the airplane operator, Win Win Aviation Inc., to supply the airplane and pilot to support skydiving operations at MWO. The skydiving operator operated single-engine airplanes with the propeller located in front of the cockpit; however, the contracted airplane was a twin-engine airplane with its propellers located under each wing.
According to the pilot's report, he asked a skydiving operator's employee if he could order something to eat for lunch as they had talked about earlier in the day. The employee responded that she had time to come see the pilot at the airplane because she was expecting a small delay before the next flight. The pilot thought the delay was not long enough to justify shutting down the engines.
The pilot observed the employee running with a piece of paper once she exited the manifest office, which was about 100 feet in front of the airplane. He reached between two seats to get a pen ready while the employee had to go around a fence to the loading area before entering the airplane parking area. The skydiving operator's employee subsequently walked into the operating propeller under the airplane's left wing.
NTSB Identification: CEN14LA272
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, June 01, 2014 in Middletown, OH
Aircraft: DEHAVILLAND DHC 6 200, registration: N223AL
Injuries: 1 Fatal,1 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On June 1, 2014, about 1400 eastern daylight time, an employee from the fixed base operator responding to a DeHavilland DHC-6-200 airplane, N223AL, received fatal injuries when she was struck by an operating propeller blade as she walked toward the cockpit while the airplane was standing on a ramp at the Middletown Regional Airport/Hook Field (MWO), near Middletown, Ohio. The airplane sustained minor propeller damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by Win Win Aviation Inc. under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a skydiving flight. Day visual flight rules conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and the flight was not operating on a flight plan. The local skydiving flight was standing on the MWO ramp while waiting for passengers to board when the accident occurred.
At 1355, the recorded weather at MWO was: Wind 240 degrees at 3 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 28 degrees C; dew point 11 degrees C; altimeter 30.14 inches of mercury.
Sarah Rhoads died after getting hit in the head by a propeller.
Photo/Start Skydiving
Co-workers mourn woman struck by plane propeller
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (WDTN) – Sarah Rhoads died from her injuries Tuesday Morning, two days after she was hit by a spinning plane propeller.
She was transported to the hospital with severe head injuries on Sunday afternoon from a Middletown skydiving zone.
Rhodes, 24, was employed by Start Skydiving as the Manifest Reservations Manager or Business Manager. That job involved lining up airplanes with jumpers and keeping track of how much weight is going up in the air.
2 NEWS spoke with Start Skydiving owner John Hart about the accident. He believes Rhoads was getting a food order from the pilot, which is something she usually did, but typically the planes she goes up to have the propeller on the front. This one had them on the wings.
“We can only assume she is so used to walking out and talking to the pilot with no props there, that she accidentally made a mistake,” said Hart
Hart said Rhoads was like family and their entire team is upset over the accident.
Rhoads had been working at Start Skydiving for three years.
Sarah Rhoads, an office manager at Start Skydiving in Middletown for three years, died Monday night, one day after she was critically injured when she accidentally walked into an operating propeller on an airplane.
Sarah Rhoads, 24, of Miamisburg and office manager for three years at Start Skydiving, passed away from the injuries Monday night at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. She was surrounded by family and the friends she had made at the business, said John Hart, owner of the skydiving company, based at Middletown Regional Airport.
“It doesn’t get any worse than this,” Hart said. “She was like a daughter. I loved that girl.”
To memorialize Rhoads, a Labor Day event at the airport, called the “Work Stinks Boogie” will be renamed the “Sarah Boogie” this year, Hart said. He said the weekend features more than 500 skydivers and a free fireworks show.
“We will never forget Sarah,” Hart said. “We want to celebrate her life. It was one of her favorite times.”
Kyle Whittier, a skydiving instructor, described Rhoads as “a nerdy skinny girl who tried to fit in and who fit in pretty well.” They both lived in Miamisburg and over the past 2½ years became good friends, he said.
On Sunday afternoon, Rhoads, as she frequently did, walked out of the hangar to the plane on the tarmac to ask the pilot if he wanted any food. But for some reason, she walked into one of the propellers on the Nouvel Air airplane that was idle on the tarmac. She was transported to Miami Valley Hospital by Careflight and she was listed in critical condition Sunday and Monday. Ten minutes after the accident, Hart and other skydivers landed at the airport after performing in Jacksonville, Fla. He said the incident was “absolutely horrible” and the “worst nightmare of my life.”
Middletown Fire Capt. Jeff Spaulding said it was his understanding that prior to the accident, the pilot issued warnings to the victim to keep away from the plane.
“She just made an error,” Hart said. “Usually the propellers are going so fast, you can’t see them. She probably walked around the nose and didn’t see it.”
Hart said Rhoads frequently yelled at people if they crossed the yellow safety lines. Hart said he still has more questions than answers.
The Federal Aviation Administration has opened an investigation into the incident, as is protocol in accidents involving airplanes. The FAA will look at areas under its regulatory responsibility, including rules of flight, certification of the pilot and aircraft and training, according to FAA Spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory.
Hart said Start Skydiving is scheduled to reopen Wednesday, June 4, weather permitting.
“She would want that,” Hart said of Rhoads.
