# Accident 19980824137939A: Cessna 172, Sewanee, TN, August 24, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 24, 1998, 19:45 local time
- Place: Sewanee, TN
- Airport: Franklin County Airport
- Phase of flight: Idling Engines
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.1991° N, 85.9198° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1991&lon=-85.9198&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6720A, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6720A) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 172 (registry code 2072402, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-300 series (registry code 17022, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 172
- Reported engine: CONT O300A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 88 total, 38 in this make and model, 33 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL98LA120](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98LA120) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980824137939A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) PILOT WILLIAM LORD JR. HAD FLOWN TO FRANKLIN COUNTY, SEWANEE AIRPORT TO VISIT HIS GIRLFRIEND. WHILE PERFORMING HIS SHUTDOWN CHECKLIST, HIS GIRLFRIEND MISS SEEMA PATEL, DOB 05-17-77 RAN TOWARDS THE AIRCRAFT. MISS PATEL WALKED INTO THE STILL TURNING PROPELLER. THE ENGINE WAS RUNNING AT IDLE POWER. MISS PATEL WAS LIFE FLIGHTED BY ERLANGER HOSPITAL. SHE WAS ADMITTED IN SERIOUS BUT STABLE CONDITION. INJURIES WERE TWO SEVERE LACERATIONS TO HER LEFT ARM. ONE ALMOST SEVERED HER ARM. (.4) ON AUGUST 24, 1998, AT 1945 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A FEMALE PEDESTRIAN WALKED INTO THE TURNING PROPELLER ASSEMBLY OF A CESSNA 172, N6720A, ON THE PARKING RAMP AT THE FRANKLIN COUNTY AIRPORT IN SEWANEE, TENNESSEE. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 WITH NO FLIGHT PLAN FILED. ACCORDING TO WEATHER DATA FROM THE NEAREST REPORTING FACILITY, VISUAL WEATHER CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT DAMAGED. THE PRIVATE REATED PILOT WAS NOT INJURED, HOWEVER THE FEMALE PEDESTRIAN WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED CARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA, AT 1940 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, PRIOR TO HIS DEPARTURE FROM CARTERSVILLE, HE INFORMED HIS GIRLFRIEND OF HIS PROPOSED ARRIVAL TIME AT THE FRANKLIN COUNTY AIRPORT. AS AFTER LANDING, THE PILOT PROCEEDED TO PARK THE AIRPLANE ON THE RAMP. AS THE PILOT TAXIED TO THE RAMP, HE SAW HIS GIRLFRIEND STANDING ON A GRASSY HILL ON THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT PARKED THE AIRPLANE, AND BEFORE HE COULD COMPLETE THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN, HIS GIRLFRIEND RAN FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF THE AIRPLANE TO THE RIGHT SIDE IN FRONT OF THE TURNING PROPELLER. THE PILOT'S GIRLFRIEND WAS STRUCK BY THE TURNING PROPELLER. NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRPLANE WERE REPORTED BY THE PILOT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ATL98LA120](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98LA120), Aug 25, 1998: Cessna 172 (N6720A), Sewanee, TN, no damage. Probable cause: The inadequate visual lookout by the ground pedestrian. A factor was dark night conditions.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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