Stephanie Cosme, 32, was killed last year when she inadvertently walked into the rotating propeller of an aircraft in California
A US air force civilian contractor had become disoriented recording data at an airport in California last year when she walked into a jet’s rotating propeller and was killed, officials said on Friday.
In a statement outlining the findings of a report into the contractor’s death, the air force materiel command said that 32-year-old Stephanie Cosme was mortally injured on 7 September when she inadvertently walked into the rotating propeller of an MQ-9A that was parked at Gray Butte airfield.
I mean, I walk on a sidewalk right next to traffic. I’ve worked with power tools. People work around heavy machinery.
We come in close proximity to things that have enough energy to kill us on a not-irregular basis.
I think people underestimate how many civilians work alongside our men and women in uniform. Walk out to any hangar on a base in the US and it will be close to half and half. If it’s test facility it may be more civilians.
Cars are machinery the public is integrated with and understands the dangers of - she can’t be expected to navigate distracted as though she’s trained to be around active jets. It is not the same thing at all as being near the street.
That’s her job, so yes, she is expected to work around active jets.
But it sounds like this was at least partially due to a failure in training.
That’s why I said expected to navigate as though she’s trained, because you certainly don’t walk around without looking around just because you’re holding a camera if you’re trained to be around a giant suction blender.