Pilot reported a near-collision on the ramp at AGC when two vehicles drove within a few feet of his spinning propeller.
Synopsis
Pilot reported a near-collision on the ramp at AGC when two vehicles drove within a few feet of his spinning propeller.
Narrative
Two vehicles; one sedan; the other a SUV; drove within 2 feet or less of my aircraft on an active ramp area while my engine was running and beacons were on. I had pulled my aircraft out of my hangar; stowed the tug; closed the hangar; entered the aircraft and closed the cockpit door; started the aircraft with the beacons and landing light on; and had just received taxi clearance from AGC Ground. This is a non-movement area unobservable from the Tower. I had scanned the area and was just about to release brakes when I caught movement to the right. I had been just seconds away from taxiing. Two vehicles approached at what I would estimate as 20-30 mph then slowed slightly as they approached my aircraft. They proceeded immediately in front of my aircraft; between it and the hangar row. They were no more than 2 feet from my running propeller. They then proceeded up the ramp and discharged passengers near a corporate jet.AGC has a training video that is supposedly required yearly for all who have the privilege of driving on the field. That video explicitly says not to approach a running aircraft (or aircraft about to start up). That requirement is widely ignored and nearly led to a collision today. One problem is that the video does not show a parallel route to the taxiway on which the incident occurred today; that parallel route is behind one row of hangars; but you would never know it existed from viewing the video. Corporate jet passengers and their chauffeurs are in a hurry and can't be bothered to wait for an aircraft under power to get out of their way; if they are not made aware of the alternate route this type of near-miss will continue to happen until an aircraft is hit by a vehicle.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.