A female skydiver and photographer has died after backing into a propeller while taking pictures at an airfield in Kansas.
The woman, identified on GoFundMe as 37-year-old Amanda Gallagher, died on Cook Airfield in Derby on Saturday according to Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office.
She had been snapping pictures of people getting on and off planes at the Air Capital Drop Zone when she backed into an active propeller, per ABC affiliate KAKE.
Friends who paid tribute to Gallagher on Facebook said she was a professional photographer from Wichita, Kansas, close to the airfield.
Amanda Gallagher, pictured, died Saturday after backing into a moving airplane propeller while taking photos at a Kansas airfield
Emergency services were called to the scene on Saturday at around 2.40pm. They airlifted the woman to the hospital where she died from her injuries.
‘Amanda Gallagher was kind, adventurous, creative and beautiful inside and out,’ a fundraising page for the woman reads.
‘She was a loving daughter, sister, aunt and friend and will be greatly missed.’
Gallagher started skydiving earlier this month and became hooked after her first attempt, according to her Facebook page.
She posted a video of herself falling from a plane with the caption: ‘This was my first solo jump!! I’m in love.’
Gallagher also shared an image of herself posing beside a plane in skydiving gear a week later with the caption ‘best feeling ever.’
The skydiving field where Saturday’s tragedy took place. Gallagher had only begun skydiving recently and was enjoying the sport
Gallagher is pictured enjoying her first solo skydive in September. She has been remembered as a ‘young, talented photographer
Friends paying tribute on Facebook remembered Gallagher as a ‘young, talented photographer’ who was a ‘kind and gentle presence in the world’.
Gallagher’s GoFundMe page is raising funds to cover her funeral service costs. So far more than $6,000 has been raised.
‘On October 26th, Amanda passed away in a very sad accident, doing what she loved, skydiving and taking pictures!’ the fundraising page reads.
‘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 incident is under investigation.
