# NTSB ATL98LA120: Cessna 172, N6720A, Sewanee, TN, August 25, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 24, 1998, 19:45 local (Aug 25, 1998, 00:45 UTC) - Place: Sewanee, TN - Coordinates: 35.199108, -85.919784 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1991&lon=-85.9198&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Standing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/150) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 1 serious - Status: Completed, report June 21, 2000 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 43773 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL98LA120 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/43773/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL98LA120 ## Probable cause The inadequate visual lookout by the ground pedestrian. A factor was dark night conditions. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Propeller/rotor contact to person, standing - engine(s) operating - light condition - dark night (contributing factor) - visual lookout - inadequate, other person (cause) ## Analysis Prior to his departure, the pilot informed his girlfriend of his proposed arrival time at the destination airport. After landing, the pilot proceeded to park the airplane on the ramp. The pilot said, he saw his girlfriend standing on a grassy hill on the airport as he taxied to parking. Before the pilot could complete the engine shut down, his girlfriend had started running to the airplane from the left side and continued to the right side of the airplane in front of the turning propeller. The pilot's girlfriend was struck by the turning propeller. Dark night conditions existed at the time. ## Factual narrative 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 rated 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. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6720A](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6720A), registered now, S/N 28820, built 1956 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 172 - Registry model: [Cessna 172](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-172) (registry code 2072402) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-300 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-300-series) (registry code 17022, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 28820 - Engines: Continental O-300A 145 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: No damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: William R. Lord Jr - Registered owner: John H. Evans - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: VPC, CARTERSVILLE, GA - Destination: UOS - Airport: UO5, Franklin County Airport, runway 24, 3,300 × 50 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 22; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; seat: left; flight hours: 88 total, 38 in this make and model, 47 as pilot in command, 33 in the last 90 days, 9 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/dark - Wind: 360° at 7 knots - Visibility: 7 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 64 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: HSV, 35 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19980824137939A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980824137939A), Aug 24, 1998: Cessna 172, Sewanee, TN. (-23) Pilot william lord jr. had flown to Franklin county, Sewanee airport to visit his girlfriend. While performing his shutdown checklist, his girlfriend… 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. --- 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.