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

Verified

Edited By: tccjeremy

Cessna 182 [Credit: Jim Koepnick/ File photo]

Key Takeaways:

A 37-year-old woman, Amanda Gallagher, was fatally struck by a spinning propeller of a skydiving aircraft at Cook Airfield in Sedgwick County, Kansas.
The incident occurred as she was taking photographs of skydivers loading the plane, reportedly stepping backward into the propeller arc while focused on her camera, violating basic safety procedures.
Gallagher was a skydiver familiar with the facility, and clients are typically trained on safety protocols including warnings to avoid the propeller arc.
The FAA and NTSB are currently 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.