After an accident, it’s sometimes easier to see what happened than to figure out why. If the best answer to “What were you thinking?” is, “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” trouble is probably on the way.
On November 15, 2008, two student pilots took a Cessna 152 on a cross-country flight from Castle Airport near Atwater, California, to Visalia Municipal and back, a distance of 85 nm each way. Only one of them was authorized to make the flight—as a student solo—and it seems pretty clear that they knew they were breaking the federal aviation regulations. While the pilot who was scheduled to fly—let’s call him Student A—met with his CFI to review the weather and have his logbook endorsed, Student B stayed out of sight. Once Student A was sure the CFI was gone, Student B joined him at the airplane.
The flight to Visalia was apparently uneventful, with Student A at the controls and Student B in the right seat. After landing they switched positions so Student B could fly the leg back to Castle. They left Visalia at 4:25 p.m., a half-hour before sunset. It was dark by the time they landed, a little before 6 p.m. The full moon wouldn’t rise for more than another hour.
The NTSB report is less specific, but local press accounts suggest that after landing, the pair saw a fuel truck and became worried that the driver had also seen them. Afraid of being reported to their flight school, Student A had Student B taxi to the parking area, jump out of the airplane, and slip away. Meanwhile, Student A tried to get back into the pilot’s seat before any FBO staff arrived. He took the shortest route, around the front.
It’s not clear whether the engine was still running or if Student A just didn’t wait long enough after his friend pulled the mixture. In a hurry, in the darkness, he walked into the arc of the propeller, which hit him in the head. He died three days later.
Even people who’ve spent their lives around propellers can sometimes forget how dangerous they are. A moving prop is the world’s biggest food processor, in which an unwary pilot, passenger, or lineman becomes a carrot. The ramp is no place to be scrambling around, especially in poor visibility while distracted. Exercise all deliberate caution around any running airplane.
And please think twice before trying to pull a fast one. Flying requires enough attention as it is. The added burden of trying not to get caught can overwhelm normal concern for personal safety, turning what may seem like an apparently harmless prank into a really bad idea.
David Jack Kenny is manager of aviation safety analysis for the AOPA Air Safety Foundation, an instrument-rated commercial pilot, and owner of a Piper Arrow.
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