Prop strike to a dog....

[NJMac]

I was going to share this on the facebook group but chose here so my friend wouldnt see it on his newsfeed.

 

A good friend is a mechanic and pilot for a non profit organization in FL. I dont know the whole story but one of his 2 dogs was at their airport and somehow got into a running propeller. I guess that didnt end the dog but they did have to put it down shortly afterwards.

 

My wife and i plan to fly often with our 2 dogs. This hit home for us and wanted to share a heads up and reminder to keep those with lower decision capacity in your control when you're at the airport.

 

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[MBDiagMan]

I am very sorry to hear of this dogs demise.  I am sure that the kind hearted pilot who was trying to help the dog to a home feels terrible about it.

I am sure that cnoe on this forum will take extra care after reading this.  He and his wife have one or two dogs that fly everywhere with them and they are obviously quite attached to them.  I have seen a picture of one of cnoe’s dogs and it is a really beautiful animal.   Having met him, I am quite sure that he takes all precautions.

I expect that dogs that are around aviation all the time, like cnoe’s dogs, are not only accustomed to the surroundings of the airport, but also are mature animals with much knowledge about their world.  It would stand to reason that a pup that had never been to an airport to be taught about it’s environment, would be much more prone to have such a problem.

[jlunseth]

I have had dogs my entire life until the last few years, and some very good and wonderful dogs. I just have no sympathy.  There is never a reason to have a dog on the tarmac not on a leash, or around a city street, or a road.  

[Guitarmaster]

My dog is usually loose on the private tarmac behind my house. I always make it a point when I'm coming in to get a good head of speed and kill the engine then Coast to my final spot.

 

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[PTK]

There’s no excuse. Totally irresponsible to have animals running loose around airplanes and let them hit the prop. Blatant dereliction of responsibility. What if it was someone’s child? Extremely stupid and asinine!

[jan.eric.madsen]

We have an airport dog. He never has never had any interest in running airplanes, and is pretty much trained to go the other direction when he hears a ‘clear prop’ but will always come in the hangar or office to visit. Airport manager says he scares the birds and deer away so we keep him around. Now the kids.... after 3 years on earth I finally feel confident that my youngest has the common sense to walk away from a running plane. Uhg.

My point is that kids, dogs, elephants immersed in the tarmac environment will eventually be trained to what’s safe and what’s not. My lab is well trained, but I would never even think about taking him out to the hangar. Not the right environs.

Now I worry about complacency from being around it all the time. I let the kids ride scooters on the hangar row but they are not allowed to go on the ramp. The 3 yr old walks around most FBOs like he owns the place. But I still have to keep an eye on them, there’s no way I could do a preflight without another adult there. In fact I would get so stressed out that flying w family was a chore. We have a system down, but it took a while.

Heads always on a swivel when on the tarmac. Even at our sleepy airport.


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[aviatoreb]

Oh that's terrible.  :-(

At our sleepy airport there are some few that bring their dogs off leash but I always found that to be creepy.

My two dogs are VERY well behaved and I let them off leash when at the mtn bike trails or when xc skiing.  But when at the airport, no way.  Dogs just aren't mean to understand spinning props.

[jaylw314]

I was at my hangar all buttoned up and ready to start the engine one day and, much to my disbelief, someone came driving past my taxiway with his dog trotting behind the car.  It was NOT a well behaved dog--he trotted right to my aircraft and hung around me while its owner drove down the next row of hangars.

My wife was with me, so we both had to get out of the plane while I asked the owner, very nicely I might add, to please f**king secure his dog.

[gsxrpilot]

Our dog, a Labradoodle, is almost always in the plane if my wife is in the plane. And our dog is almost never on a leash. But she has perfect recall and unless allowed to go, will stay at our side at all times. But if you come to our little airport here in Smithville, TX, you might see Darby chasing her ball on the ramp or lounging around like she owns the place. But she's never out of sight and will come on command immediately and every time. So anytime there's a spinning prop or one about to start spinning, she's either sitting or lying down at my feet. 

She's a great airport dog but won't be on the ramp unless I'm there and won't go anywhere or to anyone without permission.

[aviatoreb]

14 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

Our dog, a Labradoodle, is almost always in the plane if my wife is in the plane. And our dog is almost never on a leash. But she has perfect recall and unless allowed to go, will stay at our side at all times. But if you come to our little airport here in Smithville, TX, you might see Darby chasing her ball on the ramp or lounging around like she owns the place. But she's never out of sight and will come on command immediately and every time. So anytime there's a spinning prop or one about to start spinning, she's either sitting or lying down at my feet. 

She's a great airport dog but won't be on the ramp unless I'm there and won't go anywhere or to anyone without permission.

My dogs are absolutely equally well trained.  No way would I allow my dog off leash st the airport even though I let them off leash in many other environments and I am very annoyed by people who do since it adds an extra responsibility to my operation to keep an eye on the dog off leash since I have no idea if THAT dog is sufficiently under command and self aware.  See it’s not just for the dog but for the other pilots that one must keep dogs leashed at the airport.

[gsxrpilot]

2 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

My dogs are absolutely equally well trained.  No way would I allow my dog off leash st the airport even though I let them off leash in many other environments and I am very annoyed by people who do since it adds an extra responsibility to my operation to keep an eye on the dog off leash since I have no idea if THAT dog is sufficiently under command and self aware.  See it’s not just for the dog but for the other pilots that one must keep dogs leashed at the airport.

If you're ever here at 84R or really any airport in Texas for that matter, you'll see dogs running lose. 

But you'd never question if my dog is under command. If you're anywhere near your airplane, coming or going, my dog will be with me. But when no airplanes are moving on the ramp, or pilots even walking towards an airplane, she'll be running, playing, chasing birds or her ball. 

[aviatoreb]

33 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

If you're ever here at 84R or really any airport in Texas for that matter, you'll see dogs running lose. 

But you'd never question if my dog is under command. If you're anywhere near your airplane, coming or going, my dog will be with me. But when no airplanes are moving on the ramp, or pilots even walking towards an airplane, she'll be running, playing, chasing birds or her ball. 

And I see them here at Kptd.  I am not doubting that YOUR dog is under command as is my dog.  But how is a pilot to know that it is YOUR well behaved dog at all times and not someone else’s only sometimes under command dog?  It’s an extra pilot work load put on people.

[gsxrpilot]

3 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

And I see them here at Kptd.  I am not doubting that YOUR dog is under command as is my dog.  But how is a pilot to know that it is YOUR well behaved dog at all times and not someone else’s only sometimes under command dog?  It’s an extra pilot work load put on people.

I'll agree with you. And you wouldn't ever see my dog running loose on the ramp. But when no airplanes are around, she will be.

[Hank]

I've seen a close call once, with a dog jumping / snapping at the prop as someone was trying to start their plane . . . . Scared many of us!

I love my dog, and take him flying, but he's leashed at the airport outside of our car and the plane. It also keeps him out of the rat poison in the hangar.

[kpaul]

4 hours ago, Hyett6420 said:

 

To all you dog owners can i ask that if you dont already can you please make sure that your baby is in a secure cage, so that if the worst does happen they dont fly unrestrained in the cabin and have a berter chance of survival as a consequence.

I agree, except my dog will not fit in a cage, at least not one that fits in a Mooney.  He does however wear a harness with a lead that buckles into the seat belt.  He as enough freedom to stand up and turn around, but cannot leave his seat either by choice or sudden deceleration.

[PTK]

Hypothetical scenario: Unleashed and unattended dog is allowed to run loose out on tarmac and into a spinning prop. Which party is responsible for prop strike inspection? The pilot in the cockpit tending to his airplane or the dog owner?

[Guest]

I would think that your airplane insurance would cover your airplane then look to the dog owner or possibly the airport owner to cover their loss.

Clarence

[aviatoreb]

2 hours ago, PTK said:

Hypothetical scenario: Unleashed and unattended dog is allowed to run loose out on tarmac and into a spinning prop. Which party is responsible for prop strike inspection? The pilot in the cockpit tending to his airplane or the dog owner?

I would think that would count the same as if a deer or a goose ran in front of your airplane.  Which is as if an act of nature and I believe never the fault of the pilot.

Economics aside, and fully blaming the owner for having let the poor dog off leash, I would be nonetheless just devastated if I was piloting and a dog ran in front of me, or even if I were present.  I am still quite upset seeing this thread.

We do some dog rescue volunteer work.  Their well being is something dear to me.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

I would think that would count the same as if a deer or a goose ran in front of your airplane.  Which is as if an act of nature and I believe never the fault of the pilot.

Economics aside, and fully blaming the owner for having let the poor dog off leash, I would be nonetheless just devastated if I was piloting and a dog ran in front of me, or even if I were present.  I am still quite upset seeing this thread.

We do some dog rescue volunteer work.  Their well being is something dear to me.

I know what you mean, one of the best things in life is a dog.

[PTK]

48 minutes ago, aviatoreb said:

I would think that would count the same as if a deer or a goose ran in front of your airplane.  Which is as if an act of nature and I believe never the fault of the pilot.

It’s not the fault of the pilot and you’d be very hard pressed to convince me that it’s an act of nature. (Unless of course it’s pouring and raining cats and dogs!)

I place blame squarely on the dog owner. If they cared for the well being of their animal they would not let it run into spinning props. It’s selfish of them and not fair to the animal or to the pilot tending to the plane. Due to the stupidity of the dog owner the poor animal is subjected to tremendous suffering before it dies. I can’t imagine how it feels getting chopped up by a spinning prop and not dying right away but prolonging the excruciating suffering. Also the pilot is made to feel horrible and guilty for something out of his/her control. 

It’s animal abuse or neglect of the worst kind and the neglectful owner needs to be prosecuted. What if God forbid it’s a child?

[aviatoreb]

23 minutes ago, PTK said:

It’s not the fault of the pilot and you’d be very hard pressed to convince me that it’s an act of nature. (Unless of course it’s pouring and raining cats and dogs!)

I place blame squarely on the dog owner. If they cared for the well being of their animal they would not let it run into spinning props. It’s selfish of them and not fair to the animal or to the pilot of the plane. Due to the stupidity of the dog owner the poor animal is subjected to tremendous suffering before it dies. I can’t imagine how it feels getting sliced up by a spinning prop. Also the pilot is made to feel horrible and guilty for simething out of his/her control. It’s animal abuse or neglect of the worst kind and the neglectful owner needs to be prosecuted. What if God forbid it’s a child?

I meant from the stand point of insurance - I said the phrase act of nature.  We agree completely on this topic.

And as I was trying to say above, just having people letting their dogs off leash even if they do not run into my prop - or other people's props - is very stressful for me to see since I worry in side for the well being of those poor dogs and I am annoyed at the owners who do it and I resent that I need to worry on behalf of their dog that they think they are so special and their dog is so special that no everyone will know not to worry about THEIR dog.  And I will emphasize that I am annoyed that I am stressing about their dog's safety when they are not.  As one poster said above, well THEIR dog is well trained so I do not need to worry about THEIR special dog, but how the heck is a community of pilots supposed to know which is the special extra well trained dog and which is not.  No not good enough.

[aviatoreb]

38 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

I know what you mean, one of the best things in life is a dog.

Cutie!

[PTK]

Unleashed and unattended dogs don’t belong anywhere on airport areas reserved for aircraft operations. Period. I don’t care how good and obedient you think your dog is. There should be fines imposed. I have enough to do tending to the well being of my pax, myself and my airplane. I don’t need to also look after somebody’s dog.

[kmyfm20s]

The problem with airport dogs off leash is the distraction to the other pilot that don’t know how amazing and perfectly well trained these dogs are. When they prop strike a taxi way light or clip a wing taxing because they are watching someone’s off leash dog worrying that it may run out and getting chopped up it cost the dog owner nothing! 

[milotron]

7 minutes ago, kmyfm20s said:

The problem with airport dogs off leash is the distraction to the other pilot that don’t know how amazing and perfectly well trained these dogs are. When they prop strike a taxi way light or clip a wing taxing because they are watching someone’s off leash dog worrying that it may run out and getting chopped up it cost the dog owner nothing! 

 

Airport off leash dogs are no different to off leash dogs on the street; they cause accidents from motorists and cyclists trying to avoid them with zero consequence to the (usually ) clueless owner of the dog.