Sunday, October 13, 2019

Aircraft Propeller Contact With Person: Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP, N5522S; accident occurred October 12, 2019 at Key West International Airport (KEYW), Monroe County, Florida




Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Miramar, Florida

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms


Location: Key West, FL
Accident Number: GAA20CA025
Date & Time: 10/12/2019, 2105 EDT
Registration: N5522S
Aircraft: Cessna 172
Aircraft Damage: None
Defining Event: AC/prop/rotor contact w person
Injuries: 1 Serious, 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal

Analysis 

The pilot reported that he performed a preflight inspection at night and started the airplane, but the airplane would not move forward as he attempted to taxi from parking to the runway. The pilot looked out the left window to see if there were wheel chocks, and his passenger exited the right door and checked the right main landing gear wheel for chocks. The passenger subsequently moved to the front of the airplane and attempted to remove the chocks from the nosewheel. The passenger's right hand was struck by the propeller, which resulted in a serious injury. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 

Probable Cause and Findings
  
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's and the passenger's improper decision to have the passenger attempt to move a wheel chock while the propeller was turning, which resulted in a serious injury.

Findings

Personnel issues
Decision making/judgment - Pilot (Cause)
Decision making/judgment - Passenger (Cause)

Environmental issues
Person - Effect on operation (Cause)

Factual Information

History of Flight

Prior to flight
AC/prop/rotor contact w person (Defining event) 

Pilot Information

Certificate: Private
Age: 46, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used:
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 3 None
Last FAA Medical Exam: 10/20/2018
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 06/22/2019
Flight Time:  (Estimated) 164.7 hours (Total, all aircraft), 152.4 hours (Total, this make and model), 98 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 29.3 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 7.9 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft), 1.5 hours (Last 24 hours, all aircraft) 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Cessna
Registration: N5522S
Model/Series: 172 S
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 2014
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: 172S11430
Landing Gear Type: Tricycle
Seats: 4
Date/Type of Last Inspection:  Unknown
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 2300 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time:
Engine Manufacturer: Lycoming
ELT: Installed, not activated
Engine Model/Series: IO-360-L2A
Registered Owner: Paragon Flight Training Co
Rated Power:
Operator: Paragon Flight Training Co
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Pilot School (141) 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Night
Observation Facility, Elevation: KEYW, 21 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 0 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 0253 UTC
Direction from Accident Site: 99°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Visibility:  10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 9 knots /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual:
Wind Direction: 40°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual:
Altimeter Setting: 29.97 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 28°C / 23°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: Fort Myers, FL (FMY)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: IFR
Destination: Fort Myers, FL (FMY)
Type of Clearance: IFR
Departure Time: 1600 EDT
Type of Airspace:Class D  

Airport Information

Airport: Key West Intl (EYW)
Runway Surface Type: N/A
Airport Elevation: 3 ft
Runway Surface Condition: Dry
Runway Used: N/A
IFR Approach: None
Runway Length/Width:
VFR Approach/Landing: None

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: None
Passenger Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Serious, 1 None
Latitude, Longitude: 24.556111, -81.760000 (est)

A Florida woman lost her right hand and two toes on her right foot when a propeller blade hit her Saturday as she was helping to prepare a private plane for takeoff at Key West International Airport.

A report from the Miami office of the Florida Highway Patrol listed Rebecca Lynn Gray, 45, as a passenger in a Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP plane being piloted by her husband, Walter V. Gray, 46. The couple rented the plane in Fort Myers, where they reside.

The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an investigation of the accident, her father-in-law W.V. Gray Sr., told the Fort Myers News-Press, part of the USA TODAY Network.

"My daughter-in-law, Rebecca, will recover," he said. "Obviously, it could have been much worse, for which we are very thankful."

At approximately 9:30 p.m. EDT, Gray was outside of the aircraft removing the chock blocks that were keeping the plane's wheels in place, in preparation for takeoff, the FHP report said. The engine was on and the single, front-mounted propeller was spinning.

As she removed the chock blocks from the plane's front wheel, the right side of the spinning propeller struck the right side of her body.

Gray was initially taken to Lower Keys Medical Center and later flown out to Ryder Trauma in Miami.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.usatoday.com




A Fort Myers woman trying to help prepare a private plane for takeoff at Key West International Airport lost her right hand and two toes on her right foot when the plane's propeller hit her Saturday.

A report from the Miami office of the Florida Highway Patrol said Rebecca Lynn Gray, 45, was a passenger in a Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP plane being piloted by her husband, Walter V. Gray, 46.

The Grays are Fort Myers residents and the plane had been rented by the couple out of Fort Myers, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an investigation of the accident, her father-in-law W.V. Gray Sr., said.

"My daughter-in-law, Rebecca, will recover," he said. "Obviously, it could have been much worse, for which we are very thankful."

The Florida Highway Patrol Report said the plane, with a single propeller attached to its front, was parked around 9:30 p.m. at the Key West Airport in an airplane parking zone and the aircraft’s engine was turned on and the propeller was spinning.

Rebecca Gray was outside of the aircraft removing the chock blocks that were keeping the plane's wheels in place, in preparation for take-off, the Florida Highway Patrol report said.

While she was removing the chocks from the plane's front wheel, the right side of the spinning airplane propeller struck the right side of her body.

She was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center and flown out to Ryder Trauma in Miami.

A report from the Associated Press said she lost her arm and foot when she was struck by the propeller.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.usatoday.com

A passenger on a private flight headed out of Key West stepped in front of the plane Saturday night and was struck by the propeller, which severed one of her arms, police said.

Rebecca Lynn Gray, 45, of Fort Myers, was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center and then airlifted to a Miami-area hospital in stable condition, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, which is handling the case.

The incident happened at about 8:45 p.m. Saturday at the Key West International Airport.

Her husband, Walter Gray, 46, witnessed the incident and was the pilot of the Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP. The plane was a rental out of Fort Myers.

A Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said the woman’s foot was also severed but Florida Highway Patrol said they could only confirm the woman lost an arm.

The incident began when Walter Gray tried to taxi on the runway but the plane wouldn’t move.

He got out, while the plane was still running, to check to see if the plane’s tires were still in the wheel chocks, the wedges of sturdy material put against a plane’s wheels to prevent accidental movement.

He told his wife to stay in the plane but she got out.

Gray then told his wife not to go to the front of the plane but she did. She went to remove chocks from the plane’s tires and she came in contact with the propeller.

Key West Fire Rescue took the woman to Lower Keys Medical Center.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.miamiherald.com

A propeller on a private plane severed a Florida woman's arm and foot, according to authorities.

The woman, a resident of Naples, was struck by the propeller at the Key West International Airport Saturday around 8:45 p.m., according to a news release by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

The pilot and female passenger were preparing to taxi in the private plane when it "would not move or was having some other unknown mechanical issue," authorities said.

The pilot then exited the plane while it was still running to see if the chocks placed by the airplane tires when stationary on the tarmac were still in place. The passenger was struck by the propeller after she exited and walked to the front of the aircraft.

The victim was first taken to the Lower Keys Medical Center on Stock Island and later flown in stable condition to the Jackson Memorial Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, authorities said, adding that her condition on Sunday was not known.

It is also not clear what caused the plane to not move.

Additional information was not immediately available. The victim's identity was not released.

Florida Highway Patrol is conducting the investigation.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://abcnews.go.com

7 comments:

  1. unbelievable, you can't make this stuff up; no one would believe it!

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  2. I cant see how these things happen same as getting hit by a train it must be natural selection I bet the next time ileens husband says dont cross the tracks a trains coming she might listen ? ileen or lefty im going with ileen

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  3. This is true why else chalk the front wheel

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  4. Before Taxi Checklist: "Parking Brake.....Off". Really sad though.

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  5. Pilot in Command big error. You do not remove the chucks with running engine, In addition front chocks and at night! He school shut the engine first.

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  6. Attorney 101 - Never admit fault.

    ReplyDelete