Texas Woman Loses Hand After Walking Into Plane Propeller

[Hoosierdood]

She's blonde.




Plano Woman Lauren Scruggs Hit by Plane Propeller

 

[eldirector]

Saw that on the "news" the other day. Sucks. I guess the engine was off, but the prop still turning, it was dark/night, and she just walked into it.

Major fail on the pilot's part. Should NEVER have let his passenger walk around unattended.

 

[Tripp11]

The kicker was that she was walking around to THANK the pilot.

Sad. It just goes to show you that bad things happen to good people every single day, and it sucks.

 

[geronimojoe85]

I bet she was texting.

 

[Smokepole]

This reminds me of the helicopter accident at Indpls Int'l airport several years ago where Conseco Corp atty Lawrence Inlow was decapitated as he disembarked from the company chopper. He started to leave to the side as the rotor was cycling down, then changed direction and headed towards the front of the thing. Inlow was 6'4" in. tall. Too tall to do this with the gusty wind conditions that day. Bad decision.

Link to an article about the case: Hilbert pushed policy at issue in Inlow copter accident | Indianapolis Business Journal | Professional Journal archives from AllBusiness.com

 

[geronimojoe85]

Or fighting Indiana Jones.

 

[USMCsergeant]

Hearing stories like those are just shocking. (just poor situational awareness i guess)...It's sad that she was just trying to thank the pilot and had something like that happen to her.

 

[printcraft]

This reminds me of the helicopter accident at Indpls Int'l airport several years ago where Conseco Corp atty Lawrence Inlow was decapitated as he disembarked from the company chopper. He started to leave to the side as the rotor was cycling down, then changed direction and headed towards the front of the thing. Inlow was 6'4" in. tall. Too tall to do this with the gusty wind conditions that day. Bad decision. ......

I looked over that article, I can't imagine why he was heading in the
right direction he changed course abruptly and walked into the blades.
Suicide?

Also...

There are some pictures of a similar thing happening on a Navy vessel......
They are on the web if you really need to see them, I won't link to them, pretty rough.

 

[Smokepole]

I looked over that article, I can't imagine why he was heading in the
right direction he changed course abruptly and walked into the blades.
Suicide?

Also...

There are some pictures of a similar thing happening on a Navy vessel......
They are on the web if you really need to see them, I won't link to them, pretty rough.

My recollection is that he saw someone that got his attention and decided to change course in their direction. The astounding thing is that the company chopper pilots had advised against the practice of leaving the aircraft while the blades were in motion on several occasions as well as the proper procedure if doing otherwise and the corp bigwigs decided it was too much of an inconvenience.

I guess corporate success and common sense don't necessarily go hand in hand.

 

[littletommy]

I remember seeing video of Vic Morrow getting hit by rotor blades, very hard to watch. Won't need to watch any videos on the web.

 

[hoosierdoc]

This is a prime example of how your life can change in a heartbeat. Be thankful for what you have now and live life with the appreciation it deserves.

 

[MRTOOSE]

The article I read said that she also damaged her brain and an eye in addition to losing her hand .. to bad but glad she will recover

 

[Hoosier8]

I looked over that article, I can't imagine why he was heading in the
right direction he changed course abruptly and walked into the blades.
Suicide?

Also...

There are some pictures of a similar thing happening on a Navy vessel......
They are on the web if you really need to see them, I won't link to them, pretty rough.

No, he was exiting. Helicopter blades can flex up and down and if you exit while they are still turning and you do not duck far enough, they can kill you. Exiting an helicopter can be very dangerous if you are not aware of this.

 

[Hoosier8]

Saw that on the "news" the other day. Sucks. I guess the engine was off, but the prop still turning, it was dark/night, and she just walked into it.

Major fail on the pilot's part. Should NEVER have let his passenger walk around unattended.

Light plane. If the engine was off, the prop would not be turning. Experience ground crew have been killed walking into props. IMHO, the pilot is responsible.

 

[actaeon277]

I agree, bad situational awareness. Moving blades are hard to see. And it only takes a second.
I wonder if they're going to ban propellors.

 

[nipprdog]

I bet she was texting.

Or fighting Indiana Jones.

 

[Vince49]

Tragic.

We lost a ISP officer at Eagle Creek Airpark in 1972 in this same type of accident and he was the pilot. Several witnesses saw him leave the cockpit and walk into the propeller of his own idling airplane. We will never know what he was thinking of or planing to do. Momentary distraction around any machine be it an airplane, combine, motor vehicle, firearm, or in the shop or factory can have devastating and everlasting consequences. We all know this and yet it still happens. I guess that is why we call them accidents.

 

[in625shooter]

She's blonde.




Plano Woman Lauren Scruggs Hit by Plane Propeller

Nice piece of humanity there! So anytime someone gets hurt they must all deserve it huh?

 

[Vince49]

DUCK!

No, he was exiting. Helicopter blades can flex up and down and if you exit while they are still turning and you do not duck far enough, they can kill you. Exiting an helicopter can be very dangerous if you are not aware of this.

Back in the 60's at Ft.Rucker we had a poster in flight ops with a headless pilot holding his helmet in the crook of his arm with his head in it. The caption read," The 540 rotor system dips to five foot two. How tall are you?"

 

[IndyGunworks]

Light plane. If the engine was off, the prop would not be turning. Experience ground crew have been killed walking into props. IMHO, the pilot is responsible.

and that mentality is whats wrong w/ the country these days. there is no sense of accountability for ones own actions. the pilot didn't force her into it, and one could reasonably expect someone to stay clear of the planes engine/prop.

its her fault plain and simple and trying to blame anyone else is ludicrous.