Investigation Underway After Prop Accident Death

Skydiver had been aboard the Cessna 182 to take photographs before she accidentally backed into the operating propeller.

Meg Godlewski

Monday, October 28, 2024 at 04:07 PM ET

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Edited By: tccjeremy

Cessna 182 [Credit: Jim Koepnick/ File photo]

Key Takeaways:

A 37-year-old skydiver, Amanda Gallagher, was fatally injured after accidentally backing into the operating propeller of a skydiving aircraft at Cook Airfield in Sedgwick County, Kansas.
The incident occurred as Gallagher was taking photographs of others loading the Cessna 182, reportedly violating basic safety procedures by moving into the propeller's arc.
While focused on her camera, she stepped backward into the spinning propeller, despite having received safety briefings on avoiding propeller arcs.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are both investigating the accident.

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A woman in Sedgwick County, Kansas, was killed Saturday when she accidentally backed into the operating propeller of a skydiving aircraft at Cook Airfield (K50).

According to Lieutenant Eric Slay of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Amanda Gallagher, 37 and a Wichita resident, was taking a photograph of people loading an aircraft at 2:40 p.m. CDT when she failed to stay out of the propeller arc of the Cessna 182 and was critically injured.