Incident
During boarding, a female child passenger dropped a doll while climbing the airstair to enter the aircraft. She ran back down the airstair to retrieve the doll and was struck by the rotating right propeller.
Circumstances
A company attendant was positioned at the left propeller, which was stopped, to assist passengers. The attendant was not stationed on or near the airstair. The operator did not have any procedures governing the operation of engines while passengers were enplaning or deplaning.
Procedural Changes
At the time of the incident, boarding procedures were described as sketchy. Following the accident, the operator revised the procedures to require a crew member to be present on the boarding stairs before passengers begin boarding.