Aviation Accident Summary SEA90FA080

COEUR D'ALENE, ID, USA

Aircraft #1

N161RS

SWEARINGEN SA226-T(B)

Analysis

THE ASSISTANCE OF A GROUND LINEMAN WAS OBTAINED TO CONNECT AN EXTERNAL POWER UNIT. AFTER THE ENGINES WERE STARTED, THE LINEMAN DISCONNECTED THE POWER UNIT. THE PILOT NOTED THE DISCONNECT AND COMPLETED THE CHECKLIST. WHEN HE LOOKED UP TO FIND THE LINEMAN, HE SAW AN INDIVIDUAL WALKING AWAY FROM HIS AIRPLANE AND ASSUMED THAT IT WAS THE LINEMAN THAT HAD BEEN ASSISTING HIM. THE PILOT RELEASED THE BRAKES AND STARTED FORWARD MOVEMENT OF THE AIRPLANE. THE LINEMAN, HOWEVER, WAS STILL NEXT TO THE AIRPLANE AT THE EXTERNAL POWER RECEPTACLE, WHICH WAS LOCATED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE NOSE IN FRONT OF THE PROPELLER. THE LINEMAN AND POWER UNIT WERE STRUCK BY THE RIGHT PROPELLER. A TOXICOLOGY CHECK OF THE LINEMAN'S BLOOD SHOWED IT HAD AN ALCOHOL LEVEL OF 0.037%.

Probable Cause and Findings

INADEQUATE COORDINATION BETWEEN THE PILOT AND THE GROUND LINEMAN. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS: IMPAIRMENT OF THE GROUND LINEMAN FROM CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL.

 

Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database

Get all the details on your iPhone or iPad with:

Aviation Accidents App

In-Depth Access to Aviation Accident Reports