Tributes have been paid to the ‘kind and adventurous’ photographer
A Kansas photographer died after reportedly getting caught in a plane propeller while doing her job on Saturday.
Deputies with the Sedwick County Sheriff’s Office responded to Air Capital Drop Zone, a skydiving center, following an accident involving 37-year-old Amanda Gallagher.
According to authorities, the Wichita native “made contact with a grounded and stationary, but still running plane.”
First responders took Gallagher to a local medical center, where she succumbed to her injuries.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were briefed about the incident and are investigating.
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Gallagher reportedly stepped into the ‘spinning propeller’
Air Capital Drop Zone told ABC News that Gallagher was taking photos of the skydivers that afternoon.
According to the report and the FAA, she returned to the landing site at Cook Airfield in Derby, which is about 17 miles from Wichita, and the next divers started to board the grounded but idling Cessna 182.
“For unknown reasons … she moved in front of the wing, a violation of basic safety procedures,” the skydiving center explained to the outlet. “With her camera up to shoot photos as she did so, she stepped back slightly moving toward and into the spinning propeller.”
Gallagher’s brother and sister-in-law created a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs.
They described the photographer as “kind, adventurous, creative and beautiful inside and out.”
The family has raised nearly $15,000 as of Tuesday morning.
A woman died in a freak accident at an airfield in Kansas over the weekend.
According to Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, Gallagher had been taking photos of people getting on and off planes at the Air Capital Drop Zone, when she backed into an active airplane propeller.
She later died in hospital after being rushed there in an “extremely critical condition.”
Gallagher ran her own photography business, and often took pictures at the Air Capital Drop Zone.
Her sister-in-law, Abbey Charboneau, has since set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral costs.
Charboneau wrote paid tribute to Gallagher, describing her as “kind, adventurous, creative and beautiful inside and out.”
She wrote: “On October 26th, Amanda passed away in a very sad accident, doing what she loved, skydiving and taking pictures! As her family processes through this tragic accident, they could use your help covering the funeral expenses. Please consider helping them out and also keeping them all in your prayers.”
The page has already surpassed its $12,000 target, having raised $15,232 at the time of writing.
In a post on Facebook, Cook Airfield sent their condolences to Gallagher’s family.
An investigation into the incident is underway.
