Kansas: Photographer Amanda Gallagher killed after backing into plane propeller

A group of skydivers watched on in horror as a photographer was killed after backing into a plane’s propeller.

The 37-year-old woman was preparing to board a plane to capture images and was killed after she strayed from tarmac protocol and misjudged the distance to the danger zone.

Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said the woman was critically injured after trying to take a picture at the airfield in Kansas and later died in 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 that Gallagher was on one of its flights as an observer in order to take photos.

“After the aeroplane 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.

“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the young lady who died yesterday after a tragic accident with an aeroplane 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.