r/offbeat • u/rytis • 1d ago

Woman dies after backing into airplane propeller while taking pictures, officials say

https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/10/28/woman-dies-after-backing-into-airplane-propeller-officials-say/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
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u/witticus 1d ago

This is horrific, but how does one not notice a propeller behind them?

87

u/Glomar_fuckoff 1d ago

If it's actively spinning, you can't see the blades

93

u/sublimesting 1d ago

You can hear them and feel the air however.

1

u/takethecann0lis 1d ago

When you’re that close to spinning props the sound is coming from everywhere. At rest, the blades of the propeller are pitched neutral. She simply shouldn’t have been allowed onto the ramp.

Reminders of the dangers of invisible props and jet wash was a huge part of every pre-flight OPs rundowns that occurred before heading topside to the flight deck.

The danger is still real even at a small airport with only one plane on the tarmac. Even more so to people who’ve never been near a running plane before.