Man killed on ramp in ELP

[corl737]

What I would be asking.. Why were they doing a 70% engine run at the gate to begin with?

That's part of the investigation. El Paso has a designated location for engine runs ... about 2 miles from the Continental gate. Plenty of room for speculation as to why it wasn't used but I'll wait for the report.

 

[Ken MacTiernan]

What I would be asking.. Why were they doing a 70% engine run at the gate to begin with? A CFM-56 engine at idle will not have sucked that guy into it. Don't know if this part is true, but we heard from the FAA report, they were doing this engine turn, with passengers on board. What would have they done if the engine had a fire?

Engine runs at the gate with passengers are not uncommon. As long as the flight crew are the ones in the cockpit doing the engine run and an AMT is on the headset monitoring the work being done on the engine. This is done to save time. A fact of life in the commercial side of the industry.

As j7915 stated, situational awareness is a must as well as having all loose objects removed/secured. My AF training is still with me as well as AA's. As for the possibility of a fire, a fire extinguisher should have been within reach in case of an emergency.

But it seems as if this tragedy was a simple case of human instictiveness. A cap was blown loose, heading towards the inlet. Mr. Buchanan reached for it and...

As I posted previously, this was a very tragic accident, and one which we should all remember and learn from.

 

[Cobrakev]

Engine runs at the gate with passengers are not uncommon.

Yes, IDLE engine runs are common, but not running up to 70% at the gate. That is why they have runup areas...

 

[QA4Jet-A]

Engine runs at the gate with passengers are not uncommon. As long as the flight crew are the ones in the cockpit doing the engine run and an AMT is on the headset monitoring the work being done on the engine. This is done to save time. A fact of life in the commercial side of the industry.

As j7915 stated, situational awareness is a must as well as having all loose objects removed/secured. My AF training is still with me as well as AA's. As for the possibility of a fire, a fire extinguisher should have been within reach in case of an emergency.

But it seems as if this tragedy was a simple case of human instictiveness. A cap was blown loose, heading towards the inlet. Mr. Buchanan reached for it and...

As I posted previously, this was a very tragic accident, and one which we should all remember and learn from.

Yanno, a good idea would be to require a safety tether worn at all times while doing Run-ups. I know we implemented that immediately after hearing the sad news. Anyones thoughts?

 

[Kev3188]

Yanno, a good idea would be to require a safety tether worn at all times while doing Run-ups. I know we implemented that immediately after hearing the sad news. Anyones thoughts?

Interesting concept. Where do you "tie in" to?

 

[Ken MacTiernan]

Yanno, a good idea would be to require a safety tether worn at all times while doing Run-ups. I know we implemented that immediately after hearing the sad news. Anyones thoughts?

Theoretically it sounds like a good idea. But I would think such a harness would hamper a person. The "leash" would drag on the ground, perhaps causing a trip hazard, get caught on the cowling, etc.

I have seen "fences" placed in front of the inlet but at power settings this fence would impeed (?) the air flow.

I think that the best think to do is just have situational awareness at all times, have NO loose articles on your body and to also remember that an aircraft can ALWAYS depart late.

 

[QA4Jet-A]

Theoretically it sounds like a good idea. But I would think such a harness would hamper a person. The "leash" would drag on the ground, perhaps causing a trip hazard, get caught on the cowling, etc.

I have seen "fences" placed in front of the inlet but at power settings this fence would impeed (?) the air flow.

I think that the best think to do is just have situational awareness at all times, have NO loose articles on your body and to also remember that an aircraft can ALWAYS depart late.

Ken, I can't agree more with you on leaving late for the sake of Safety. I saw the new Harnesses when delivered and they are not that long but, let me get back to Base so I can quiz and answer your questions, you and the previous post. As far as situational awareness.... let me ask a simple question... ever run a Red Light? It happens!!!

 

[Bob Owens]

Yes, IDLE engine runs are common, but not running up to 70% at the gate. That is why they have runup areas...

N1 or N2?

70% n2 is only a little above idle.

 

[Ken MacTiernan]

QA, "As far as situational awareness.... let me ask a simple question... ever run a Red Light? It happens!!!"

Yes, I have. Was it due to situational awareness? Forgetting where I was? No. I have run red lights because I was in a rush, and or was just entering an intersection where the light was turning yellow.

I am well aware how situational awareness comes into play in our job. I am sure we have all taken off a panel, placed something near/next to us while working only to step backwards/forwards onto this item.

I am sad that several things combined to cause this terrible tragedy.

 

[QA4Jet-A]

QA, "As far as situational awareness.... let me ask a simple question... ever run a Red Light? It happens!!!"

Yes, I have. Was it due to situational awareness? Forgetting where I was? No. I have run red lights because I was in a rush, and or was just entering an intersection where the light was turning yellow.

I am well aware how situational awareness comes into play in our job. I am sure we have all taken off a panel, placed something near/next to us while working only to step backwards/forwards onto this item.

I am sad that several things combined to cause this terrible tragedy.

Ken, I looked at the Safety Harness and the tether is 3' long. It hooks to a hoist point (eye bolt) around 2 O'clock on either side of the engine. Wearing one will not let you get close to the intake or exhust area but still allow you to do engine adjustments. If you trip over the tether, you'd have to be a midget. Sorry it took so long to get back to you but I needed some vacation time....

 

[Ken MacTiernan]

Ken, I looked at the Safety Harness and the tether is 3' long. It hooks to a hoist point (eye bolt) around 2 O'clock on either side of the engine. Wearing one will not let you get close to the intake or exhust area but still allow you to do engine adjustments. If you trip over the tether, you'd have to be a midget. Sorry it took so long to get back to you but I needed some vacation time....

Thanks for the info. Hopefully such safety equipment will prevent a tragic accident. Who makes the safety harness and are the "eye bolts" part of a kit? I don't know if AA has this harness or not but if we do not I would like to pass along the information up the chain.

 

[QA4Jet-A]

Thanks for the info. Hopefully such safety equipment will prevent a tragic accident. Who makes the safety harness and are the "eye bolts" part of a kit? I don't know if AA has this harness or not but if we do not I would like to pass along the information up the chain.

Ken, Here's what I found. It is in a Boeing Box but it shows Manufactured by a company called Air Spares.
P/N F80239-18. For 100-200 series A/C, it attaches to the Fwd Eng Lower Mounting (Inbd & Outbd)Eng Sta 136.0 and for all other series it attaches to the Fwd Eng Handling Mount (Inbd & Outbd) Nac Sta 175.4. Hope this helps...

 

[Ken MacTiernan]

Ken, Here's what I found. It is in a Boeing Box but it shows Manufactured by a company called Air Spares.
P/N F80239-18. For 100-200 series A/C, it attaches to the Fwd Eng Lower Mounting (Inbd & Outbd)Eng Sta 136.0 and for all other series it attaches to the Fwd Eng Handling Mount (Inbd & Outbd) Nac Sta 175.4. Hope this helps...

Thanks. 😀