Pilatus PC-12/45 N398J accident near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Probable cause

The line technician's failure to remain clear of the propeller. A factor was the night lighting conditions.

NTSB analysis

After an uneventful landing at night, the commercial rated pilot taxied the single-engine turbo propeller equipped airplane to a FBO based at the airport. Upon reaching the FBO's dimly lit ramp, a line technician, who was employed by the FBO, used lighted wands to marshal the airplane to a parking spot. When the airplane came to a complete stop, the pilot set the parking brake. As the pilot was initiating the engine shut down procedures, he heard a loud "thud" and felt the engine, propeller, and airplane begin to vibrate. He looked up and saw the line technician rolling on the ramp toward the airplane's left wing tip. Upon exiting the airplane, the pilot and one of the passengers, who was a physician, noted that the line technician was critically wounded and immediately initiated first aid. It was also noted that a set of wheel chocks and the severed sections of the two lighted wands were near the propeller at the front of the airplane. The line technician had received a written warning from his employer approximately three months before the accident for attempting to chock the nose wheel of another airplane while the engines were operating.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for DFW08LA055 for the full record.