A News item I found today on a completely non-aviation related website:

A woman was injured by a propeller while walking by a plane at the Lebanon airport last night.

Emergency responders arriving at the airport shortly after 6 p.m. found the 22 year old woman injured on her right side, arm and pelvis. The identify of the the woman is unknown due to federal privacy laws. The victim was flown to Vanderbilt by Lifeflight helicopter, where she underwent surgery last night and was reported in critical condition.

Witnesses said she had gotten out of the single-engine Cessna 172 and was walking around it when she accidentally walked into the propeller. Police said her father was the pilot and at least two other people were on board.

Hope It Was Interesting
Ashar

Same thing for helicopters....well not really....but many people are afraid that when walking in and out of a helicoptor that their head might get chopped off even though there is room....but I think when the blades are starting off they are low...but IDK heli.

It would seem to me that common sense says "stay away from loud, fast spinning objects"  most people would be petrified to walk up to a running plane, much less get close enough to hit the prop.

I feel bad for the father, think how giulty he feels now? I know he deserves to some extent...

This is a tragedy that should never have happened. I've been around light aircraft all my life & used to swing the props at one time. I also taught others to do it safely.  Like any other piece of machinery these things are perfectly safe providing they're treated with respect. Fortunately I was taught properly & was always aware of the danger of an aircraft propeller even when it's stationary & the engine is switched off. If the pilot doesn't use the correct procedure when shutting down, aircraft piston engines have a nasty habit of "kicking back" after stopping & the prop will turn through several revolutions, sometimes in the reverse direction. Also, if the earth (ground) lead to the magneto is broken or disconnected the ignition is live. Props are potentially dangerous & anyone close to an aircraft should give the propeller a wide berth, even walk round the rear of the aircraft rather than risk coming anywhere near the prop. It might seem silly or wimpish but it makes sense.

The same is true for model aircraft & electric motors can be more dangerous than I/C engines.

As for helicopters, I remember a very tragic case in the UK not long ago. The pilot had landed near his home & his young daughter ran out to greet him as he stepped out of the door. He grabbed the child & without thinking threw her in the air - straight into the still spinning rotor blades. She was obviously killed. It still makes me shudder to think about it.

It only takes a second's lapse of concentration for these things to happen. I like the BMFA (British Model Flying Association) motto. Safe Flying is No Accident. Think about it & remember it.

It's real easy - because we all do it - to say 'how stupid!' etc. But most of us also realize how easy it is to have a momentary brainfart and do something so totally dumb it leaves us breathless.

Case in point: I was flying tow somewhere around '98, and doing the walkaround on our 'Big Green Jellybean' Citabria one morning. I can't remember exactly what I was doing; but I'd just gotten to the "Inspect cowling" part of the walkaround and started looking at something closely just inside the cowling. It took a few seconds for me to realize what I was doing - you know that "Oh $h!!!!!ttttt" feeling? I was standing astride the prop; hand on the upper blade; legs on both sides of the lower blade; with elbow resting on the spinner and right hand inside the cowling with the key in the ignition. No-one saw - thankfully - but lor' that's one of those things that years later still makes you smack your head.

I got caught out by a prop just the once. Despite what I said previously about being careful I got complacent & almost paid the price for it. This is very easy when you're used to working with anything. When I first started in the business I looked after 4 aircraft in the club hangar. First thing in the morning during DI it was general practice to turn the props a few revolutions to get rid of any excess oil that had drained into the cylinder heads overnight, These were the old Gipsy Major inverted inline engines. The Tiger Moth has the mag switches outside the cockpit on the side of the fuselage so the mechanic can see them when he's swinging the prop, a very useful idea. I always checked these carefully before turning the prop & both sets of switches were in the OFF position. On this particular morning I turned the prop rather casually & the engine fired with the prop cracking me on the back of the hand. Fortunately the throttle was closed & the fuel switched off so it only turned the one revolution. It shook me up a little & left a big red weal on the back of my hand but otherwise I was OK. I was alone in the hangar & dread to think what might have happened.

When I investigated, the earth lead to the mag with the impulse starter mechanism had broken. This must have happened when I taxied the aircraft over to the hangar on the previous evening & shut the engine down. There was no sign of a problem & it had stopped nomally. I was extremely lucky & this was a timely lesson that I never forgot. Always treat a prop as if it's live.

Hi again - this thread just reminded me of an old video I have somewhere - a 1943 USAAF training video called 'Pilot Heaven'. Pretty much like any military training film; an instructor who's no actor (and doesn't need to be), a few cheap jokes and a deadly serious message.
The dude in the film is (was, rather) a P-38 instructor; and in the story wanders up to 'Pilot Heaven' where he jaws with all the pilots that killed themselves making common mistakes.
It's a pretty good film - I made a copy and donated it to a couple of the local Air Cadet squadrons. It's 1943; but the lessons are as valid today of course.
If you find it; I reccommend it.
And yes; there's a bit in it of a B-24 pilot who's not looking where he's going and walks into...well; you can guess. Good thing they didn't have special effects back then.
And actually, it's from that video I have my own personal mantra: "Never stretch a glide. Never stretch a glide. Never stretch a glide. Never stretch a glide."

(Which was a danger with me - I started by flying gliders; so was a bit too comfortable bringing the throttle back on a 172. I damn near got caught in a stall 200m off the end of the runway - never again.)