Passenger killed while deplaning 8/7

3393RP

3393RP

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3393RP
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This would be one of the LAST planes to try exiting with the engine running, especially for a passenger. I mean you’re stepping towards the prop... No idea what the pilot could’ve been thinking. Really tragic incident.
 
What a waste. I didn't know the da-40 was designed to exit in front of the wing. I bet this guy watched his instructor get out with the engine running and thought it was okay.
 
I've done "hot" deplaning, so far only with my spouse. The idea was to let her off at an air conditioned FBO while I stashed the very hot airplane. I gave very specific instructions that the aircraft was to be exited aft and that she not turn back for any reason whatsoever including to tell me the airplane was on fire.

Were my aircraft one you exit toward the nose I'd not do "hot" deplaning under any circumstances. Too great a possibility of injury.
 
I NEVER let the engine run while a passenger gets out even if it's a fellow pilot. Most airplanes aren't the easiest to get out of. You could trip, cause damage to the door, or just be absentminded.
 
I’ve done it before. But only with another pilot that I knew very well. There was not going to be any walking around the plane. Just a pick up and then later a drop off. But doing it on a plane like that I would not even consider. I didn’t know that about the DA40. Are their other step up/off the front of the wing planes like that?
 
I also have exited a running aeroplane, but as we owned a Skyhawk, it sort of forces you backward, what with the door and the strut. And I've even disconnected jumper cables after the engine is running (which was quite nerve racking). But I think I've just decided never to do either again.
 
The DA40 has got a little step in front of the wing, and that's how you get in and out. It is kind of tricky for young people, let alone an older woman. We all make stupid mistakes at times, but this one came with a very high price to pay. It's sad and scary.
 
That poor daughter (really, anyone near this, but especially her). She'll never, ever forget this, and odds are pretty good she saw the whole thing.

The pilot was a complete moron for letting that woman exit the airplane (especially since she had to exit toward the prop) with the prop spinning. I presume he did this to avoid a hot start on the IO-360, which was especially problematic on the DA-40.

Just awful. I would never allow a pax to exit an airplane with the prop spinning, but if they did, and they turned into hamburger helper, I'd have an awfully tough time flying again.
 
I guess he may have just recently finished his training, but the FAA database shows only a student pilot certificate. It's really tragic. I guess I have never understood why pilots try so hard to avoid shutting down the engine.
 
steingar said:
Sometimes it can be a real pain to start again when it's hot. This goes double for anything with fuel injection.
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That’s usually from a lack of understanding why it’s hard to start or having a flawed technique. Once you figure out what the correct combination is, it’s a non issue.

Edit: not calling you out specifically, just saying “you” as in the pilot.
 
The da 40 step is on the same side as the propeller. Most planes I've flown in have the step on the opposite side of the wing from the propeller.
 
I've done this with my wife and I in both PA-28 and PA-32 airframes. Exiting across the wing to the rear.

I don't consider this one of my better decisions, and I'm not apt to do it any more.

That said, the DA-40 looks like about the WORST airplane to do this with. Ohmigosh - I've not paid attention to these aircraft much, but now that I googled an image and looked at one with this in mind, ummmmm, no.
 
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Was there a chance the passenger tripped or fell forward?
 
PaulS said:
The da 40 step is on the same side as the propeller. Most planes I've flown in have the step on the opposite side of the wing from the propeller.
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Whether deserved or not, that's going to eventually get them named as a deep pocket in a lawsuit.
 
GaryM said:
Whether deserved or not, that's going to eventually get them named as a deep pocket in a lawsuit.
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I thought to "like" your post to say I agree with what you said but it might seem I was agreeing to the forthcoming lawsuit. These type of accidents are completely preventable.

I can understand why the pilot did what they did but I'm certain that now nothing in the world would seem too inconvenient to prevent this tragedy. My heart goes out to the daughter as she undoubtedly witnessed this horrific event. Several lives were changed forever in a moment of time ... :(
 
Feh said:
Was there a chance the passenger tripped or fell forward?
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It’s possible but there’s not much room between the step and the prop so that doesn’t even have to be the case. It’s only a couple feet, if that, between that step and the prop. I’ve spent time flying the DA40 and with passengers, I’m always having to explain the best technique for getting in and out of it because it has a unique design. Getting out of one, momentum in itself is enough to make you travel the short distance to the prop. It’s similar to stepping off a ledge & how it takes that one extra step to stop yourself from moving.
 
I have never had trouble hot starting a DA40. There are some planes that are hard like the turbo Cirrus. But the DA40 seems to start up nicely. Tragic indeed.
 
Grum.Man said:
That’s usually from a lack of understanding why it’s hard to start or having a flawed technique. Once you figure out what the correct combination is, it’s a non issue.

Edit: not calling you out specifically, just saying “you” as in the pilot.
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Hot start issues with fuel injected aircraft are prolific. I've had aircraft that were a touch on the hard side to restart when the ambient temp and they were really hot. I get why someone would want do a "hot" deplaning, and I admit to being one of them. But like I said, I would never do it if said deplaning headed toward the prop.
 
Feh said:
Was there a chance the passenger tripped or fell forward?
Click to expand...

That is a very possible scenario of missing the step and falling forward. I am assuming the family has off loaded the plane enough times to be comfortable to do so with the engine running, although I could be wrong. All it took was one slip up to make a life changing accident.
 
This is just horrible. Feel bad for everyone. I've never had a passenger enter or exit a running aircraft, unless it was another pilot. It's normal to do that with a cub and hand prop. Sometimes with a PA-28 if someone forgets something - behind the wing exit. In either case it's with someone that fully understands the risks. I can't see ever doing it with an exit in front of a low wing.
 
steingar said:
Hot start issues with fuel injected aircraft are prolific. I've had aircraft that were a touch on the hard side to restart when the ambient temp and they were really hot.
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Once you learn the technique, it's not difficult at all. I've successfully hot re-started DA40's multiple times amidst a range of climates. Injected 172/182's too. When I got my complex endorsement, my CFI made sure to include an M20F hot restart. No problem there either.
 
Since the OP mentioned that she was switching seats with her daughter in the back seat, I wonder if the intent was to never step off the wing but she fell.
 
Dave Theisen said:
Since the OP mentioned that she was switching seats with her daughter in the back seat, I wonder if the intent was to never step off the wing but she fell.
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I don’t see how. The front canopy tips forward but the rear opening is on the pilot side rear. (Imagine a gull-wing door design for the rear, but only one side.)
 
Dave Theisen said:
Since the OP mentioned that she was switching seats with her daughter in the back seat, I wonder if the intent was to never step off the wing but she fell.
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That would require both to be on the same wing at the same time, given that there's only one door for the rear seat passengers.

EDIT: @jsstevens beat me to the "send" button.
 
Dave Theisen said:
Since the OP mentioned that she was switching seats with her daughter in the back seat, I wonder if the intent was to never step off the wing but she fell.
Click to expand...

I gathered from the local news article she walked into the propeller on the left side after deplaning and going around from the right side.
 
Jesus that must have been ugly. We have an NG and I have done this one, but only from the back of the wing without stepping on the flaps of course. Seems to me there is a small step icon or sticker towards the back of the wing and that is what I used and it was from the back seat only. Not the first time this has happened nor will it be the last in many types of airplanes. Always baffled when it truly is the most avoidable of tragedies.

Anyone else having this issue with Kathryn's Report logging on?
 
This is why I never let people on or off any plane I fly with the engine running. Just no good reason for that risk in the planes we fly. It's technically illegal to do it in the Navion (there's a placard against it). The standard Navion boarding is off the front of the wing. Way too close.
 
From the AFM, whilst there is no specific prohibition of the actions that were apparently taken, it does mention that the canopy and rear door must be closed before starting engine. I'll assume that they mean "all of the time that the engine is running". So the passenger swap wasn't kosher to begin with.
 
In fairness to the pilot, anybody that could walk around a plane into the prop could walk into the prop of any plane on the ramp.

I still think it’s foolish to keep the engine running during a swap.
 
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