It was supposed to have been a fun December evening spent viewing the twinkling Christmas lights around Dallas from the lofty vantage point of an Aviat Husky. Instead, joy turned to tragedy moments after the flight ended, when the Husky’s passenger, a 23-year-old fashion model named Lauren Scruggs, climbed out of the airplane onto the dark ramp and accidentally walked into the idling airplane’s spinning propeller. She lost her left hand and eye in the gruesome accident, and today faces a long and difficult road to recovery. Now it will be up to the insurance companies to work out who foots the cost of her substantial medical bills.
If you think something similarly disastrous could never happen with you at the controls of an airplane, think again. While this tragedy was preventable, even careful pilots who take all precautions to ensure the safe outcome of every flight can fall victim to circumstances that are simply beyond their control.
