Texas Model Has 'Long Road to Recovery' After Walking Into Plane Propeller (http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/12/06/texas-model-has-long-road-to-recovery-after-walking-into-plane-propeller/)
Published December 06, 2011 | FoxNews.com
A fashion model and magazine editor was recovering in a hospital Tuesday after severing her hand and suffering severe facial injuries when she walked into a spinning airplane propeller in north Texas.
Witnesses said that Lauren Scruggs, 23, had just stepped off the plane at a private airport in McKinney, Texas, on Saturday night when she apparently walked in front of the propeller. She was taken by helicopter to the hospital, where she underwent several surgeries over the weekend.
Surgeons had to amputate Scruggs' left hand, and the accident caused severe damage to her shoulder and head, the New York Post reported.
Scruggs, who lives in Plano, Texas, is the editor of the online fashion magazine LOLO and has also worked in the costume department of the show "Gossip Girl."
Speaking to “Good Morning America” Tuesday, Scruggs’ parents said they weren’t sure exactly what happened when she walked into the propeller, but that they believed she was going to thank the pilot when the accident occurred.
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I hope she'll recover as best as her injuries will permit, but DAY-UM, people, this is what we pilots hate the most about having non-fliers within a hundred yards of our equipment. The one I really feel for is the pilot who is going to have that image of this pretty idiot walking into his prop for the rest of his days.
Here's an update on this story:
Texas Model Loses Eye From Horrific Propeller Accident (http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/12/15/texas-model-loses-eye-from-horrific-propellor-accident/)
Published December 15, 2011 | NewsCore
Lauren Scruggs, 23, suffered multiple injuries earlier this month after walking directly into the propeller of a small plane following a flight to see an aerial view of Christmas lights with a friend. The blades sliced the left side of her face, including her eye and cranial nerve, and severed her left hand.
Her family said in a blog post on their CaringBridge page that they had been "praying for a miracle" as they waited for Scruggs' left eye to heal. But the model ultimately needed to have her eye removed and replaced with a prosthesis.
Her family wrote that Wednesday's operation at the Parkland Hospital in Dallas went "unbelievably well," though they asked for continued support.
"Along with the pain she was already experiencing with her arm and shoulder injuries, the removal of the left [eye] is also very painful," the blog entry read. "We are asking again for prayer to relieve this pain, and also, as we have posted previously, pray for Lo to regain her appetite. This is crucial for her body to heal quickly."
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Report: Pilot Tried to Warn Passenger About Propeller (http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/Report-Pilot-Tried-to-Warn-Passenger-About-Propeller-011712)
Published : Tuesday, 17 Jan 2012, 7:08 AM CST | By Alice Wolke | MYFOXDFW.COM
MCKINNEY, Texas - The NTSB released a preliminary report about what happened the night a young woman accidentally walked into a propeller last month in McKinney.
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The pilot admits he landed and left the prop running as Scruggs began to get out of the plane.
"Upon noticing that she was exiting in front of the strut, the pilot leaned out of his seat and placed his right hand and arm in front of her to divert her away from the front of the airplane and the propeller," the report states.
The pilot says he told Scruggs she should walk behind the airplane.
When she was beyond the strut attached to the wing, the pilot sat back up, and asked out his left-side window who was flying next.
That's when he heard someone yell, "STOP STOP," according to the report, and saw the passenger lying on the runway.
This chick must've drove a Porche because she had a hard time spelling "BMW". :thatsright:
Stupid SCRUNT!!! :hammer:
Model Injured By Airplane Propeller Rejects Settlement Offer (http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=ff9ea68e-0808-4b7b-815f-2e32ad4e50d2)
Insurance Company Had Put $200,000 On The Table
Fri, Mar 30, 2012
The model and blogger who walked into a moving airplane propeller after exiting the aircraft has rejected a $200,000 settlement offer from the company that insured the airplane.
Lauren Scruggs, a blogger and model who lives in Texas, had been on a sightseeing flight with a friend around Christmas time to views lights from the air. After the flight, she exited the airplane and walked into the still-turning propeller. She lost an eye and a hand in the accident.
Fox News reports she is suing the plane's owner Shell Aviation and company owner Michael Shell, as well as Aggressive Insurance Services which wrote Shell's policy, and pilot Curt Richmond, according to court documents reproduced by the Dallas Morning News website. The suit was filed in the Dallas County Court.
Aggressive reportedly made a verbal offer to Scruggs based on her status as a passenger on the airplane. The policy has a $100,000 per passenger limit on liability. But in the court filing, Scruggs and her father Jeff, who is a co-plaintiff, say that since she was outside the airplane when the accident occurred, she was not a passenger so the limit does not apply. The case will apparently turn on a determination of when someone is no longer considered a passenger in an airplane.
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I'm not holding my breath, but I hope this stupid bitch gets laughed out of court. :banghead: :banghead:
Well.....if that's the case, the passenger door on a C-172 opens aft of the lift strut (the assist step is on the back of the strut mount on the gearleg), so the idiot would have to walk around the starboard main landing gear, half-way down the length of the wing (because that big-assed strut is in the way), make a left, ducking under the wing, make another left, and walk back into the spinning prop.......
Sounds like Darwin Award material to me......
doc
I went back to the article on the NTSB's initial findings.
NTSB Identification: CEN12LA125
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, December 03, 2011 in McKinney, TX
Aircraft: AVIAT AIRCRAFT INC A-1C-180, registration: N62WY
Injuries: 1 Serious.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On December 12, 2011, about 2050 central daylight time, a passenger of a parked Aviat Aircraft Inc., Husky A-1C, N2364G, contacted its rotating propeller after exiting the airplane on the ramp of the Aero Country Airport (T31), McKinney, Texas. The airplane was registered to Shell Aviation, LLC, McKinney, Texas, and was being operated by a private pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The passenger was seriously injured and the pilot, who was the only other person remaining on board, was not injured. The flight had originated from T31 and had just returned from flying in the local area to view holiday lights from the air.
According to the pilot (as he recalls the event), after landing from the planned 20-minute flight, he stopped the airplane on the ramp with the engine running in anticipation of taking another passenger to view the holiday lights. He opened the door on the right side of the airplane expecting a friend to come out and assist his passenger in deplaning. After he opened the door, the passenger started to get out of the airplane. Upon noticing that she was exiting in front of the strut, the pilot leaned out of his seat and placed his right hand and arm in front of her to divert her away from the front of the airplane and the propeller. He continued to keep his arm extended and told the passenger that she should walk behind the airplane. Once he saw that the passenger was at least beyond where the strut was attached to the wing, and walking away, he dropped his right arm and returned to his normal seat position. The pilot then looked to the left side of the airplane and opened his window to ask who was next to go for a ride.
The pilot then heard someone yell, "STOP STOP," and he immediately shut down the engine and saw the passenger lying in front of the airplane.
The Husky A-1C looks to more closely follow the general arrangement of the Piper Super Cub than the C-172.
(http://www.generalaviationnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/husky.jpg)