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 woman, Amanda Gallagher, was fatally injured at Cook Airfield in Sedgwick County, Kansas, when she accidentally backed into the operating propeller of a skydiving aircraft.
Gallagher, a skydiver, was reportedly taking photographs when she violated basic safety procedures by moving into the propeller's arc, an area she had received prior safety briefings to avoid; the FAA and NTSB are investigating the incident.

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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.