Man Hit On Runway

oldman

oldman

Well-known Member
Location
PA
On May 7, 2020, an unknown man at the time was struck and killed by a Southwest jet landing at Austin-Bergstrom Airport (AUS), in Austin, Texas. I have been trying to find out what the reason was for the person being on the runway, but haven't had much luck. As the SW jet touched down, the pilot noticed the man and instantly tried to maneuver around him, but was unsuccessful as he was struck by the bottom of the left engine of the Boeing 737.

Runway incursions are few, but all are very dangerous. A runway Incursion happens when something, including another aircraft or someone is on the runway blocking the path for another plane that has the right-away. This incursion happened on Runway 17R.

Here is the video and the radio transmission between the tower and the pilot: Near to the end of the video, you will be able to see the damage to the engine. What you have to imagine is that plane was probably doing about 150 knots or approximately 170 mph.
Runway Incursion
 

oldman said:
On May 7, 2020, an unknown man at the time was struck and killed by a Southwest jet landing at Austin-Bergstrom Airport (AUS), in Austin, Texas. I have been trying to find out what the reason was for the person being on the runway, but haven't had much luck. As the SW jet touched down, the pilot noticed the man and instantly tried to maneuver around him, but was unsuccessful as he was struck by the bottom of the left engine of the Boeing 737.

Runway incursions are few, but all are very dangerous. A runway Incursion happens when something, including another aircraft or someone is on the runway blocking the path for another plane that has the right-away. This incursion happened on Runway 17R.

Here is the video and the radio transmission between the tower and the pilot: Near to the end of the video, you will be able to see the damage to the engine. What you have to imagine is that plane was probably doing about 150 knots or approximately 170 mph.
Runway Incursion
Click to expand...

It can't be easy for somebody to just bumble unknowingly out on the runway, can it?
 
Butterfly said:
It can't be easy for somebody to just bumble unknowingly out on the runway, can it?
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Sure. Anyone can jump a fence, but there is supposed to be Security and sensors secured onto the tops of the fences, so that if a person or anything of weight breaches the fence, an alarm is supposed to alert Security. Not to mention a lot of cameras at larger airports.

The pilots taxied to the end of the runway because they knew they had struck the man and they needed to collect themselves. After a few minutes had passed, the pilots then taxied to the gate. I can only imagine how they must have felt, even though it wasn’t their fault. The pilot flying the plane has to be careful if he swerves to avoid. He could lose control very easily.
 
oldman said:
Sure. Anyone can jump a fence, but there is supposed to be Security and sensors secured onto the tops of the fences, so that if a person or anything of weight breaches the fence, an alarm is supposed to alert Security. Not to mention a lot of cameras at larger airports.

The pilots taxied to the end of the runway because they knew they had struck the man and they needed to collect themselves. After a few minutes had passed, the pilots then taxied to the gate. I can only imagine how they must have felt, even though it wasn’t their fault. The pilot flying the plane has to be careful if he swerves to avoid. He could lose control very easily.
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What an awful burden that pilot has to bear.
 
Pinky said:
What an awful burden that pilot has to bear.
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I definitely agree. It's a very tragic event for the pilots and the person's family.
 

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