Girls and Aircraft - Volume II

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Picked this up a while ago at a Goodwill store for 15 bucks.
 
She should move-that engine is going to get hot.
No, she should move 'cause there ain't no chocks or tiedowns, and Corsairs have lousy brakes!
Did you hear about the female line service marshaller who backed into the spinning propeller?


Disaster!
Happened, 1993, EWR. A female Northwest Airlink ramp rat, trying to unplug a stuck power cart cable from under #2 engine nacelle on a Metroliner. Plug came loose suddenly and she fell backwards into the prop. Her amputated arm sprayed blood all over the FO's side window and windshield, flew through the air, and landed on a cart in a passing baggage train.
Aviation is a dangerous business. Stay safe out there, everybody.
 
Also happened in the sixties. Those of us meeting L-188 Electra flights used to race up and grab prop blades during spin down so that you kept the prop moving or slowed it down to ensure #1 blade was vertical so you could check the prop oil level without having to fight the prop brake to get it in position.

All stopped when we were shown some really grainy 8mm film footage of a hostie at another operator coming down the stairs and turning her back on the #2 prop, as was normal, and then taking one step too many backwards. NOT pretty. Would not be allowed now because it might traumatise the poor little darlings even though seeing the real thing in real time would traumatise them infinitely worse.

At same company we were taught to always park the tug and ground power cart across the nose of the aircraft and we always had to wait until another person fitted the nose wheel chocks before moving into position. Later at another employer the policy was one man only met the aircraft and to pull across the front of #3 and 4 while they are still running and park parallel to the fuselage. Then get off and chock the nose wheel and connect the gpu and advise the captain when groud power was available. He would then shut down the engines.

I always followed my initial training as I felt it was much safer. One night I did that and before I got the chocks in the crew accidentally released the brakes. The aircraft came forward destroyed the radome and damaged the frame forward of the pressure bulkhead.

My inquisition over the incident lasted about a minute.

Boss - you destroyed a radome and took VH-xxx out of service for a week. That will cost the company $mega.

Me - and what would it have cost if the prop hit the Murex and it tore the engine off the firewall and the prop ripped into the fuselage at floor level.

Boss - long silence then you may go.

They later changed to allow my way of parking as an alternative and from then on I walked out and fitted the chocks before going back and getting the tug - like I should have the first time if I had been smart.
 
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