New Zealand Engineer Killed After Being Sucked Into Plane Engine

[webfact]

New Zealand engineer killed after being sucked into plane engine at Woodbourne Airport

An aircraft engineer was killed after he was sucked into a plane engine during a routine maintenance check which turned horribly wrong.

he man had reportedly entered the testing engine enclosure when the engine was running at Woodbourne Airport, near Blenheim, New Zealand, this morning.

Police would not immediately confirm how the man died but said officers were “assisting an Occupational Safety and Health investigation” into the matter.

Emergency services were called to the airport just after 8am (6AEST) today but the man was already dead by the time ambulance crews arrived.

The engineer was working for Safe Air - an aviation maintenance, repair, overhaul (MRO), design and manufacturing business which works on both commercial and military aircraft.

Safe Air confirmed one of its engineers was killed and said it was co-operating with investigations launched by police and the Department of Labour.

Woodbourne Airport manager Dean Heiford told the New Zealand Herald that the incident happened in a section of the airport used by Air New Zealand group.

He said the man died in the airport's engine testing bay, which are not attached to a plane when they are tested.

However, Mr Heiford added it was unclear whether the man was killed by the jet engine or was hit by a propeller engine.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/world/new-zealand-engineer-killed-after-being-sucked-into-plane-engine-at-woodbourne-airport/story-e6frfkyi-1226110704568

-- news.com.au 2011-08-08

[Atmos]

more info from NZ

Man killed in plane engine testing accident

Last updated 10:35 08/08/2011

An engineer was killed when he was sucked into a Hercules plane engine at Woodbourne Airport near Blenheim this morning.

Marlborough area police commander Inspector Steve Caldwell said police were assisting an Occupational Safety and Health investigation after the man, 51, was killed at a remote corner of the airfield about 8.15am.

Caldwell said how the man died was ''all assumption at this stage'', however, three sources have said he was sucked into a plane engine.

A source said OSH were on site and the C-130 Hercules engine had been taken into the RNZAF hangar to be dismantled and to allow the man's remains to be recovered.

A former employee said the engine wasn't fitted to an aircraft when the man was killed.

He said SAFE Air tested Hercules engines on a frame in a remote corner of the airport once they had been serviced.

The man had reportedly entered the testing enclosure while the engine was running.

SAFE Air confirmed that an engineer died during what it called a "routine maintenance operation" at its Blenheim base.

Edited August 8, 2011 by Atmos

[Atmos]

He cannot have been fully 'sucked in' to the jet - this update report says they performed CPR.

Tasman police acting district commander Steve Caldwell said emergency services personnel performed CPR on the man but their attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Air NZ said the Rolls Royce C-130 Hercules turboprop engine was being tested without its propellers on a remote stand at the time of the incident.

A turboprop engine is a combination of a jet engine with a propeller on the front, an Air NZ spokeswoman told NZPA.

[cloudhopper]

He cannot have been fully 'sucked in' to the jet - this update report says they performed CPR.

The compressor turbine is as far as anything big ever gets fully sucked into a jet engine.

"A source told the paper the engine had been taken into a Air Force hangar to be dismantled to recover the body".

[planemad]

Sorry cloudhopper, but you are wrong. In the first instance the compressor is at the front of the engine and the turbine is at the back, 2 totally different components. If the engine is fitted with stator vanes they might well prevent a body from being fully ingested. The deckhand who was sucked into the intake of a US military aircraft was saved by the fact that he was wearing suitable head protector and the stator vanes themselves.

The sad demise of one mechanic who was not so lucky can be seen if you google "Airplane Mechanic Sucked Into Jet Engine at El Paso Airport", but please be aware the pics of the aftermath are quite horrific. After almost 40 years working with and now teaching aircraft engineering, I still see people taking stupid risks with jet intakes. It simply isnt worth it!

[cloudhopper]

Sorry cloudhopper, but you are wrong. In the first instance the compressor is at the front of the engine and the turbine is at the back, 2 totally different components.

Yes sorry for my misuse of the word turbine.

[Berek]

R.I.P mate.

A Hercules engine has a bloody big set of 4 propeller blades in front of the turbine inlet. You'd get mashed by blades before getting anywhere near the inlet. Of course they may be able to run it without blades but not sure.