Middletown, OH, USA
N223AL
DEHAVILLAND DHC 6 200
The skydiving airplane was on a ramp with its engines operating while the pilot waited for passengers to board. The pilot asked an employee of the skydiving operator if he could order something to eat for lunch. The employee responded that she had time to come see the pilot at the airplane because she was expecting a small delay before the next flight. The pilot thought the delay was not long enough to justify shutting down the engines. The pilot observed the employee exit the manifest office and run toward the airplane. The skydiving operator typically flew single-engine airplanes with the propeller located in front of the cockpit; however, the accident airplane was a twin-engine airplane with its propellers located under each wing. The operator's employee subsequently walked into the operating propeller under the airplane's left wing, sustaining fatal injuries.
On June 1, 2014, about 1400 eastern daylight time, a propeller from a DeHavilland DHC-6-200 airplane, N223AL, struck an employee from the skydiving operator as she walked toward the cockpit while the airplane was standing with the engines operating on a ramp at the Middletown Regional Airport/Hook Field (MWO), near Middletown, Ohio. The employee received fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to and operated by Win Win Aviation Inc. under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a skydiving flight. Day visual flight rules conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and the flight was not operating on a flight plan. The local skydiving flight was standing on the MWO ramp while waiting for passengers to board when the accident occurred.The local MWO skydiving operator, Start Skydiving LLC, contracted with the airplane operator, Win Win Aviation Inc., to supply the airplane and pilot to support skydiving operations at MWO. The skydiving operator operated single-engine airplanes with the propeller located in front of the cockpit; however, the contracted airplane was a twin-engine airplane with its propellers located under each wing. According to the pilot's report, he asked a skydiving operator's employee if he could order something to eat for lunch as they had talked about earlier in the day. The employee responded that she had time to come see the pilot at the airplane because she was expecting a small delay before the next flight. The pilot thought the delay was not long enough to justify shutting down the engines. The pilot observed the employee running with a piece of paper once she exited the manifest office, which was about 100 feet in front of the airplane. He reached between two seats to get a pen ready while the employee had to go around a fence to the loading area before entering the airplane parking area. The skydiving operator's employee subsequently walked into the operating propeller under the airplane's left wing.
The skydiving operator employee’s failure to see and avoid the rotating propeller blades when she walked toward the cockpit while the airplane’s engines were running.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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