Incident Overview
On June 1, 2014, at about 1400 eastern daylight time, a propeller from a DeHavilland DHC-6-200 airplane struck an employee of the skydiving operator while the aircraft stood with engines running on a ramp at Middletown Regional Airport/Hook Field (MWO), near Middletown, Ohio. The employee sustained fatal injuries.
Aircraft and Operator Details
The airplane, registered as N223AL, was owned and operated by Win Win Aviation Inc. under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a skydiving flight. The local skydiving operator, Start Skydiving LLC, had contracted with Win Win Aviation to supply the airplane and pilot for skydiving operations at MWO. Start Skydiving typically used single-engine airplanes with a front-mounted propeller, whereas the contracted aircraft was a twin-engine design with propellers located under each wing.
Sequence of Events
According to the pilot's report, he asked a skydiving operator employee if she could order lunch for him, as previously discussed. The employee responded that she had time to come see the pilot at the airplane because she anticipated a small delay before the next flight. The pilot determined the delay was not long enough to justify shutting down the engines.
While the aircraft was stationary on the ramp awaiting passenger boarding, the pilot observed the employee running from the manifest office, which was about 100 feet in front of the airplane, carrying a piece of paper. He reached between two seats to get a pen ready. The employee had to navigate around a fence to reach the loading area before entering the airplane parking area. She subsequently walked into the operating propeller under the airplane's left wing.
Ambient Conditions
Day visual flight rules conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was not operating on a flight plan.