A woman died on Saturday after backing into a plane’s propeller while trying to take a picture at an airfield in Kansas, officials said.
The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said the woman was critically injured in the incident and later died at the hospital, according to NBC News affiliate KSNW. The woman was identified by the sheriff’s office as 37-year-old Amanda Gallagher of Wichita, Kansas.
Air Capital Drop Zone, a Kansas-based skydiving company, released a statement obtained by KSNW on Monday stating Gallagher was on one of its flights as an observer in order to take photos.
“After the airplane landed, for unknown reasons, as the next group of jumpers were boarding, she moved in front of the wing, a violation of basic safety procedures,” the statement said. “With her camera up to shoot photos as she did so, she stepped back slightly moving toward and into the spinning propeller.”
Martin Myrtle, the company owner, went on to say that Gallagher was beautiful “inside and out” and that her death had a “profound” impact on the Drop Zone community.
“Her presence at the DZ was welcomed, she was loved,” Myrtle said.
Cook Airfield — a privately-owned airport in Derby, about 15 miles south of Wichita — posted a statement to Facebook on Sunday confirming the woman’s death and asked followers to keep her friends and family in mind.
The airfield is also the home of Air Capital Drop Zone.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the young lady who died yesterday after a tragic accident with an airplane propeller on Cook Airfield,” the airfield post said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement Monday that it would investigate the incident along with the National Transportation Safety Board.