# Accident 19990805010769A: Parten P66C, Kaunakakai, HI, August 5, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 5, 1999, 07:40 local time - Place: Kaunakakai, HI - Airport: Molokai Airport - Damage: Minor damage - Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane - Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135) - Operator: DDLA - Location: 21.1708° N, 157.0701° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=21.1708&lon=-157.0701&mi=10 - Aircraft: N4234L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4234L-2015-05-05) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Partenavia P66C (registry code 6780101, https://openairdocs.org/model/partenavia-p66c) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PARTEN P66C - Reported engine: LYC IO360A1B6 - People aboard: 5 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 9,000 total, 4,500 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99LA263](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA263) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990805010769A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. PARAGON AIR ACFT WAS PARKED AND RUNNING IN A NON-MOVEMENT AREA WHEN A PERSON RAN THROUGH AN OPENED GATE AND INTO THE PROPELLER SEVERING HIS ARM, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN. (.19) ON AUGUST 5, 1999, ABOUT 0741 HOURS HAWAIIAN STANDARD TIME, A PARTENAVIA P68C, N4234L, OPERATED BY PARAGON AIR, INC., HAIKU, HAWAII, WAS PREPARING TO TAXI FOR TAKEOFF FROM THE KAUNAKAKAI/MOLOKAI AIRPORT, HAWAII, WHEN A LATE ARRIVING PASSENGER WALKED INTO ITS OPERATING LEFT ENGINE'S PROPELLER. THE PASSENGER WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED, AND THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE. NEITHER THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT CERTIFICATED PILOT NOR THE OTHER FOUR PASSENGERS, WHO WERE ON BOARD, WERE INJURED. THE ON-DEMAND AIR TAXI FLIGHT WAS PERFORMED UNDER 14 CFR PART 135. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A COMPANY FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT FIVE PASSENGERS HAD CHARTERED HIS AIRPLANE TO INITIALLY TRANSPORT THEM BETWEEN THE KAUNAKAKAI AND KALAUPAPA AIRPORTS, ON THE ISLAND OF MOLOKAI. THE ACCIDENT PASSENGER FAILED TO SHOW UP AT THE BOARDING GATE. THE FOUR PASSENGERS PASSED THROUGH THE AIRPORT'S SECURITY SYSTEM, WALKED TO THE AIRPLANE, AND BOARDED. THEN, THE ENGINES WERE STARTED IN PREPARATION FOR TAXIING. THE PILOT FURTHER STATED THAT AIRPORT GROUND PERSONNEL INDICATED THE FIFTH (PROSPECTIVE) PASSENGER ARRIVED AT THE DEPARTURE GATE AND OBSERVED THAT IT WAS CLOSED. HE FOUND ACCESS TO THE RAMP, AND WITHOUT GOING THROUGH A BOARDING GATE, RAPIDLY PROCEEDED TOWARD THE AIRPLANE. THE PASSENGER APPROACHED THE AIRPLANE FROM BEHIND, AND HE WAS NOT OBSERVED BY THE PILOT UNTIL BEING STRUCK BY THE LEFT ENGINE'S PROPELLER. THE PILOT ALSO STATED THAT WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT MOVING. HE WAS IN THE PROCESS OF OBTAINING TAXI INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL FACILITY. (.4)FIVE PASSENGERS HAD CHARTERED THE AIRPLANE FOR A FLIGHT. FOUR OF THE PASSENGERS ARRIVED AT THE AIRPORT, PASSED THROUGH THE OPERATOR'S BOARDING GATE AND ENTERED THE AIRPLANE. THE PILOT PREPARED TO TAXI FOR TAKEOFF, STARTED THE ENGINES, AND PERFORMED OTHER RELATED DUTIES IN THE COCKPIT. THE LATE ARRIVING FIFTH ADULT (PROSPECTIVE) PASSENGER ARRIVED AT THE AIRPORT AND ATTEMPTED TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE RAMP AREA WHERE THE AIRPLANE WAS PARKED. THE PASSENGER WAS DESCRIBED BY WITNESSES AS BEING 'FRANTIC' AND LOOKING 'VERY UPSET." HE MADE SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO GAIN ACCESS VIA CLOSED TERMINAL GATES AND WAS OBSERVED TO BANG ON CLOSED GLASS DOORS WHILE YELLING "THAT'S MY PLANE, THAT'S MY PLANE" IN AN ATTEMPT TO ACQUIRE ATTENTION. THE PASSENGER LOCATED A NEARBY OPEN AND UNGUARDED FREIGHT-LOADING GATE NEXT TO THE TERMINAL. HE PASSED THROUGH THE UNATTENDED GATE, RAN TOWARD THE AIRPLANE WHILE WAVING HIS ARMS,AND CONTACTED THE LEFT ENGINE'S ROTATING PROPELLER. AN INVESTIGATION OF THE GATE AREA REVEALED THE AREA WAS MARKED WITH SIGNS STATING "KEEP OUT RESTRICTED AREA" AND "AUTHORIZED AIRPORT EMPLOYEES ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT". THE GATE WAS BEING USED FOR FREIGHT MOVEMENT BY A DIFFERENT OPERATOR, WHOSE LOADER HAD LEFT THE GATE OPEN WHILE HANDLING CARGO IN ANOTHER AREA. UNDER FAA AND STATE REGULATIONS, THE COMPANY'S FREIGHT LOADER HAD A RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT THE GATE WAS SECURE FROM ENTRY BY UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS AT ALL TIME. ## 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 LAX99LA263](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99LA263), Aug 5, 1999: Partenavia P68C (N4234L), Kaunakakai, HI, minor damage. Probable cause: The prospective passenger's intentional act of bypassing proscribed airport procedures for boarding aircraft. A factor was the failure of another operator's ground personnel to comply with ramp… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.