Woman hit by landing airplane. Fatal

SixPapaCharlie

SixPapaCharlie

May the force be with you
Joined
Aug 8, 2013
Messages
16,051
Display Name
Display name:
Sixer
Messed up.
Knowing nothing more than what stated in the article I wonder who is at fault? We as pilots should always be prepared to go around but going around doesn't mean just shooting straight back up in the air You still have forward momentum.

I would say any person on the ground near an active runway should maintain a healthy dose of situational awareness.

At the end of the day accidents are accidents but in the world that we live in today I wonder who the blame falls on.


www.koco.com

OHP: Idabel woman hit, killed by airplane wing as she was riding a lawn mower

An Idabel woman is dead after being hit by the wing of an airplane as she was riding a lawn mower.
www.koco.com www.koco.com
 
If she was wearing camo and riding a green John Deere mower it was all her fault. Anything else and it was mostly her fault.
 
The article is very content-free. Was she mowing along the side of the runway or ???
 
Well if it is a workplace accident, I think OSHA will hold her employer liable. But not much detail in that story. Need more info.
 
I was out there about a month ago. It's a paved strip at the time I flew over it it was closed for runway repairs I don't know if it's been reopened or not. My guess is she was probably mowing along the side of it
 
Wonder if she was wearing ear protection or using headphones which prevented her from hearing the aircraft?
 
I'd be very surprised if a JURY would side with the pilot.
 
Lndwarrior said:
Wonder if she was wearing ear protection or using headphones which prevented her from hearing the aircraft?
Click to expand...
Just about every lawnmower I've ever been on were loud enough that I would have never heard an aircraft until it was past me... And even then I probably wouldn't have heard it.
 
I was at local airport when a crew was baling (those giant round bales) around the airport perimeter and the infield. The ran equipment across the runways without looking more than once. Be careful out there.
 
donjohnston said:
Just about every lawnmower I've ever been on were loud enough that I would have never heard an aircraft until it was past me... And even then I probably wouldn't have heard it.
Click to expand...
Not to mention that airplanes at low power on final approach are surprisingly quiet.

Feel like there's some culpability on both sides, but I don't know what the rules are. I always found it interesting how towered airports make a big deal about warning about mowers even when they're not really even close to the runway. Here all the mowers have radios and have to have permission to enter the RSA. Then you go to an uncontrolled field and they're mowing the runway itself with no radios at all, no notam, nothing.
 
I don't understand how a pilot would fail to see a lawnmower on the strip. Did this guy pass his medical by memorizing the eye chart?
 
At my field (uncontrolled), the guy running the mower (enclosed cab) has a radio. When he's running the smaller, open mower, he always mowed with the wind. Never mowed like that on a calm day. Even then, he was always looking behind.
 
Sounds similar to a mower/plane collision at Frazer Lake in 2015. In that accident, the mower driver wasn't listening to the CTAF while having a conversation about issues with the mower, and the limited visibility from the Ryan made it hard to spot the mower.

www.kathrynsreport.com

Ryan ST3KR, N48701: Fatal accident occurred August 06, 2015 at Frazier Lake Airpark (1C9), Hollister, San Benito County, California

GARY W. NIVA: http://registry.faa.gov/N48701 FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA San Jose FSDO-15 NTSB Identification: WPR15L...
www.kathrynsreport.com www.kathrynsreport.com
 
Here is a case where I doubt the facts will matter much. The pilot, airport owner, and her employer will be writing checks regardless the facts. Deepest pockets will at the most, just guessing.
 
Noise cancelling head phones going opposite direction of landing traffic. I can see how it could happen

Just awful. And a single mother of 3. Ughhhh
 
50' wide asphalt runway. 34' wide wingspan. Not sure I understand how these two tangled up, much less the need for attempted heroics in the flare. Is there a grass strip here that airnav doesn't know about?
 
schmookeeg said:
50' wide asphalt runway. 34' wide wingspan. Not sure I understand how these two tangled up, much less the need for attempted heroics in the flare. Is there a grass strip here that airnav doesn't know about?
Click to expand...

I had the same question considering the wingspan, runway width, and a plane landing on the centerline. I looked at the airport (Google Earth) but found no appearance of a grass landing area. Perhaps she was near/off the approach end. If so I would think she would have been quite visible.

We have a contractor that cuts the field where I hangar my plane. I have no idea if they have radios to monitor traffic or not.
 
schmookeeg said:
50' wide asphalt runway. 34' wide wingspan. Not sure I understand how these two tangled up, much less the need for attempted heroics in the flare. Is there a grass strip here that airnav doesn't know about?
Click to expand...
I have to think that she either blindly and unpredictably went onto the runway (like maybe turning around, going around a runway light, crossing, something like that), or she was just adjacent to the edge of the runway and the pilot lost directional control enough to hit her.
 
I really hate to say/ask this, but from a legality prospective was there a “lawn cutting” notam published?
 
Our entire runway is grass and we're often concerned about the same thing. This isn't the first time there's been an airplane/mower collision in the news. We try to stay vigilant (especially on Thursdays which is are usual mowing day). We also suggest clicking on the runway lights even during the daytime. We bought the a handheld to keep on the mower, but I'm sorry to say I think it is often not used.
 
flyingron said:
We bought the a handheld to keep on the mower, but I'm sorry to say I think it is often not used.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use a handheld if I was mowing either unless you have it connected to a headset somehow. Without a headset connection the mower is too loud for a handheld to be beneficial.
 
Unless the mower made an unexpected and pretty dramatic turn, I have a hard time understanding how the pilot didn't see it. I've gone around before when I saw the potential for conflict with a mower.
 
FWIW: aircraft always have the right away regardless the airport. Anybody who has worked on an airport usually is required to know this. Whether the city failed to tell her or she chose not to follow that established guidance remains to be determined. But it will.
 
Kritchlow said:
I really hate to say/ask this, but from a legality prospective was there a “lawn cutting” notam published?
Click to expand...

A search of the NOTAM archive shows NOTAMs for out of service PAPIs and a couple unlighted towers nearby, plus the one for when the airport closed, which went active at 2000z, about 40 minutes after the accident. No NOTAM listed for mowing/personnel equipment, etc. The airport does not have an ASOS/AWOS.

The ADS-B shows N9379Q made a wide approach to the airport, approaching from the southwest and gently arcing m to the north, which put it on about a 7.5nm straight in to runway 17. There is no instrument approach published for 90F.

The ADS-B signal was lost (presumably due to low altitude and lack of reception) about 4nm from the airport. It’s possible there was a traffic pattern/inspection pass, but the data doesn’t show any returns following the loss of signal.

The nearest METAR at 4O4 (8nm SW) showed clear skies and warm, with variable winds, mostly out of the southeast:

K4O4 291915Z AUTO VRB06G12KT 10SM CLR 32/19 A3000 RMK AO2
K4O4 291855Z AUTO 15008KT 10SM CLR 32/19 A3001 RMK AO2
 
FORANE said:
I wouldn't use a handheld if I was mowing either unless you have it connected to a headset somehow.
Click to expand...
So connect it to a headset. You should be wearing something anyway to prevent the mower from damaging your hearing.
 
Bell206 said:
FWIW: aircraft always have the right away regardless the airport. Anybody who has worked on an airport usually is required to know this. Whether the city failed to tell her or she chose not to follow that established guidance remains to be determined. But it will.
Click to expand...
FWIW, indeed. Interesting point, and salient. And even though it’s not the best airmanship to have the wing hanging off the runway when you don’t have to, it isn’t illegal.

But RIP to the victim. And I’d hate to be this pilot.
 
Very unfortunate. I can imagine this airport being "sleepy-enough" that this unfortunate soul likely has mowed many times before without ever seeing an aircraft takeoff or land. Obviously the facts will come out eventually (as much as can be derived from one source - the pilot in question), but it would be odd for this accident to have occurred without some error on the part of the lady mowing. With a potentially long straight-in approach, nose high, there's a chance the pilot never saw the mowing activity until he was touching down and had no ability to avoid. I can't imagine personally mowing beside a runway (active or not) without being hyper-vigilant about the possibility of runway incursion and mowing into the wind while monitoring CTAF.
 
Lindberg said:
Says who?
Click to expand...
91.113 (g) Landing. Aircraft, while on final approach to land or while landing, have the right-of-way over other aircraft in flight or operating on the surface, except that they shall not take advantage of this rule to force an aircraft off the runway surface which has already landed and is attempting to make way for an aircraft on final approach. When two or more aircraft are approaching an airport for the purpose of landing, the aircraft at the lower altitude has the right-of-way, but it shall not take advantage of this rule to cut in front of another which is on final approach to land or to overtake that aircraft.

Doesn't address ground vehicles specifically, but gets mostly there.
 
MYF had lawn mowing going on the other day, the airport was making a big fuss about it. Granted we're controlled and there were a number of vehicles 'guarding' the mower. This accident is wild.
 
One disadvantage of "standard" approaches to the pattern (including straight-ins) is that you don't have the same opportunity to observe the runway environment that you do by entering the upwind or crosswind. I’ll often go out of my way to enter an upwind leg to get a good look at things before even turning crosswind. So many more options with much more information.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top