Tourist dies after jet blast fall at St Maarten's Princess Juliana airport

[Infieldg]

Sorry if this is the wrong forum... a fellow kiwi, sounds like she was blown off balance by a 737 taking off and was unfortunate enough to whack her head on something hard :( (EDIT - having just watched the 2012 video in the article below... just, holy cr4p).

Still hope it doesn't escalate into "jet kills woman, something must be done" tho, looks like fun if you don't let go ;

Jet Blast At Caribbean Airport Tosses Tourist To Her Death - cetusnews (http://www.cetusnews.com/tech/Jet-Blast-At-Caribbean-Airport-Tosses-Tourist-To-Her-Death.HkILddUNBZ.html)

[ironbutt57]

well there are warning signs...

[TWT]

There's an aptly named forum on PPRuNe for these types of incidents.It's called 'Jet Blast'.

[atakacs]

There's an aptly named forum on PPRuNe for these types of incidents.It's called 'Jet Blast'.

You made my day :O

[pattern_is_full]

Very sad and unfortunate; not aware of any actual deaths there before. Statistically, probably about like a death on an amusement-park ride.

Been there - didn't do that (only traffic while I was on the beach were the WinAir Twin Otters and one Lear 45).

[Globally Challenged]

People in general are idiots - its difficult to regulate for the lowest common denominator.

We had several people running under our final approach path and I watched several darwin-award contestants trying to hold on to the fence with KLM 747's preparing for performance / static takeoff.

[JEM60]

Well, I guess it had to happen. I have to confess that I stood under the approach path for an AF 340 there. It's something you feel that you have to do there. Only did it once, am aware of the danger of course [exPPL], but there is no way that I would stand behind the take-off. Sand blowing, stones, very dangerous and very difficult to keep on your feet. Lovely place, but undershoot areas are for aircraft, not people and possibly getting blown into a concrete block can spoil your entire day.

[M.Mouse]

...looks like fun if you don't let go...

And there, ladies and gentleman, is why people will continue to participate in this dangerous, and now fatal, pastime.

Unbelievable stupidity.

[Shytehawk]

I am just surprised that it has taken so long. She must be a lead contender for this year's Darwin Award.

[Parson]

Very sad and sounds like a freak accident.

I remember standing fairly close behind a Vulcan under take off power many years ago....I didn't do that again.

[Basil]

Time for one of these:


http://www.airport-technology.com/uploads/storefront/28236/images/246250/small/blj-1.jpg

It was only a matter of time at St Maarten. I'm surprised no-one has suffered serious injury in the past.
Edit: They have.

[Less Hair]

Deflectors should be required if people can be harmed on public land outside the fence. Signs or not.

[noflynomore]

Ol' man Darwin's at it again!

[GrahamO]

Maybe my memory fails me but I could have sworn that video is years and years old.



Old video reposted with a new date ?

[colebertos]

Been there and done it. Would I do it again? probably not. Some may say I'm a contender for the Darwin Award, but life is there to be lived, not spent being too worried about the what if's and never taking a risk in your life.

[Dont Hang Up]

Time for one of these?

Deflectors /diffusers are generally not sufficiently frangible to be placed there.
If they are tough enough to stand up to take-off thrust they are probably too tough to be hit during an under or over shoot.

[ACMS]

Or they'll be too high and require a displaced threshold, probably not ideal there.

[Hotel Tango]

Never felt the need to join the idiots doing this. At least if you stand on the beach and get blown over it's only sand and water. If, like some - and possibly the victim, you stand at the fence and get blown over, there are large concrete dividers in the street to strike one's head on. Really surprised it took this long for a fatality.

[Airclues]

Maybe my memory fails me but I could have sworn that video is years and years old.


The article states (just above the video) that it was posted on youtube in 2012. (The video is not of the recent incident as is stated in the article).

[KelvinD]

Reminds me of an earlier life looking after navaids in Saudi Araba. We had an intermittent problem with the localiser array and were constantly struggling to find which aerial was duff. One day, I was sat on top of the array when a flight of 4 F5s were leaving. Although the localiser array was a fair distance from the end of the runway, I was blown off my perch when they put the pedal to the metal.
On other occasions, I found myself at the other end of the runway taking localiser measurements, centre line width etc. While I was stand there with my wireless on a stick a Saudia Tristar came into land. I looked around to see this monster rapidly approaching and thought I would stay put. No problems as it went overhead at a decent height but I was amazed at how it can appear from my view point at the very end of the runway as though the plane was aiming straight at me!

[sitigeltfel]

I am just surprised that it has taken so long. She must be a lead contender for this year's Darwin Award.

She has children, and possibly grandchildren, so doesn't qualify.

[Tu.114]

A remarkable display of common sense, lack of.

This video here says all there is to say about the advisability of lurking behind a running jet engine...

ThsynsUj1oU?t=5

[momo95]

There is a lack of respect towards this poor woman I think. Regardless of her decision to do what thousands of others have ... she has a family and people are mourning.

If my mother were to die, I'm not sure I'd appreciate some of the comments posted here that are being directed towards her.

[Chris2303]

There is a lack of respect towards this poor woman I think. Regardless of her decision to do what thousands of others have ... she has a family and people are mourning.

If my mother were to die, I'm not sure I'd appreciate some of the comments posted here that are being directed towards her.

Exactly!

And I think it is fair to assume that she has seen others do it so it must be OK.

[Hotel Tango]

Seriously, is that how you would gauge danger? I've been there and have watched several hundreds of people doing it over a period of days. Yet it never entered my mind for a second to do something so damn dangerous!

[Brigantee]

Teenage lads doing something like this i can understand as its a well known fact they are immortal, But a 57 year old ?

[TRPGpilot]

Well said Momo95. Many posters here seem completely caught up in a bubble of aviation, so as to have lost touch with their humanity.

It's something I've seen over the years following this website. The sheer contempt shown towards the poor morons who aren't cognizant of the intricacies of your world.

Heaven forbid one day you discover you are far from perfect.




I have been to this location more than once. Not one time did I feel the need to do something stupid because I saw someone else doing it. Stupid things happen to people that do stupid things. Sometimes they live to be stupid another day, sometime they bash their heads on a concrete lane divider and die. That's life.

[lomapaseo]

There is a lack of respect towards this poor woman I think. Regardless of her decision to do what thousands of others have ... she has a family and people are mourning.

If my mother were to die, I'm not sure I'd appreciate some of the comments posted here that are being directed towards her.

This kind of feeling has been addressed in Jet Blast, thus many similar threads reside there.

Basically it's one of "Lessons Learned" or; "there but for the grace of God .... "

[Basil]

Time for one of these?

Deflectors /diffusers are generally not sufficiently frangible to be placed there.
If they are tough enough to stand up to take-off thrust they are probably too tough to be hit during an under or over shoot.
Good point. Hydraulically retractable then?

[Smilin_Ed]

The best type is one that deflects stupid people from getting into a dangerous situation. :=

[OldCessna]

There's an aptly named forum on PPRuNe for these types of incidents.It's called 'Jet Blast'.

Yeah its "Darwin Awards"

[mftx7jrn]

It was always an accident waiting to happen i'm afraid.

[45989]

Oh dear. A significant number of the dreaded health and safety types lurking here.
As said in an earlier post, if stupid people choose to do stupid things no amount of nanny regulation will change it.
Darwinism has its place.

[Gauges and Dials]

Standing at that fence, or trying to hang onto that fence while an aircraft is taking off, is like a lot of other activities in which there's a risk you'll fall or be knocked down. Like skateboarding, rock climbing, trail bike riding, skiing, etc.

99% of the time when one falls, one picks up, dusts off, and moves on. Occasionally one gets a bruise, sprain, or broken bone. Or a knock on the head and a concussion. With extreme rarity, the knock on the head can be fatal, as it appears to have been in this case.

It can even happen stepping off a curb hailing a taxi.

Is it "stupid" to try to hang onto that fence behind a jet? I dunno, how much value do you get from the fun / thrill / Instagram video relative to the risk? Is it "stupid" to go skiing, rock climbing, trail bike riding?

Nobody can really answer that question for anyone else. It's only stupid if you don't understand the risks or choose not to think about them.

[Gauges and Dials]

It was always an accident waiting to happen i'm afraid.

So's a ski slope. Or a skateboard park.

[Gauges and Dials]

I have been to this location more than once. Not one time did I feel the need to do something stupid because I saw someone else doing it. Stupid things happen to people that do stupid things. Sometimes they live to be stupid another day, sometime they bash their heads on a concrete lane divider and die. That's life.

Without even knowing you I guarantee you that you, personally, participate in activities that carry risk; activities that other people who don't happen to enjoy might call 'stupid', activities that, should you be unfortunate enough to meet an untimely end while participating, will prompt people on the Internet who have never met you to comment that you were a stupid person who needed to be taken out of the gene pool.

[Hotel Tango]

Gauges and Dials, There's an element of risk in EVERYTHING we do in our daily lives. Many of these risks are beyond our control, but just as many are within our control. One could decide to stay in one's house and never venture out and one would still not be safe. It's down to personal assessment. Some assess differently to others, sometimes out of pure ignorance and sometimes because foolishly they think it "can't happen to me".

[Kewbick]

Do F1 race car drivers and motorcyclists qualify as idiots?...or are they risk takers who love the thrill of speed? Everyday life has inherent risks. Everyday life can also be boring. Enough of this "Darwin Awards" crap.

[FIRESYSOK]

Do F1 race car drivers and motorcyclists qualify as idiots?...or are they risk takers who love the thrill of speed? Everyday life has inherent risks. Everyday life can also be boring. Enough of this "Darwin Awards" crap.

No, but they get paid a lot of money.

[Piltdown Man]

How much must we spend to protect people from themselves? What is the value of education if people knowingly place themselves in harm's way and then pay the price when the hazard they knew existed beforehand then manifests itself? It is tragic somebody had lost their life attempting to have fun but this is life. I will also suggest that in order to really live you must have the possibiliy of an untimely death nearby. So let's just accept this was an un-intended own goal and learn from it. If not, we must must start a debate as to when we should be killed or be prevented from having children in case they die. If not, what do we do about old age?

[ethicalconundrum]

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

As for risk, I get that. I snow ski. Pretty good at it too. Got two knee surgeries, broken bone in foot, wrist. When I ski, I go fast. Burn lot of calories, and sweat off 3-6Lbs. Make no mistake there's risk involved. F1 greatest driver in the world in a coma from skiing. Sonny Bono dead from skiing. Is that equivalent to standing behind a giant plane, hanging onto a link fence for protection from injury or death?

hmmmmmmmm