Woman mowing grass near airport runway killed after plane wing struck her

The woman died when the wing of a plane hit her when she was riding a lawnmower. (Representational)

A 27-year-old woman died on Friday when a small airplane's wing struck her as she was riding a lawnmower near the airport runway. Samantha Hayes, a resident of Idabel in Oklahoma, US, was mowing grass when the wing hit her.

James Baxter, the pilot of a single-engine Bonanza A36 aircraft, recounted that after touching down on the Broken Bow Airport runway at approximately 2:30 pm, he noticed the woman and made a desperate attempt to ascend and clear her path.

The 70-year-old pilot’s efforts were in vain, and the wing of the aircraft struck her on her head. Hayes was declared dead at the scene soon after she was hit.

Tributes on social media said that Hayes was a single mother to three children.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokesperson, Sarah Stewart, expressed the gravity of the situation, telling Associated Press, "We're investigating whether any charges could be filed against the pilot. Did the pilot do anything wrong, or was this just unavoidable?"

The investigation is expected to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, including whether Samantha Hayes was wearing reflective clothing and whether she was aware of the approaching aircraft.

The pilot had taken off from the McKinney National Airport in Dallas, making a 50-minute journey to Broken Bow, a small town near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border, where the tragedy occurred.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is also actively involved in this investigation, scrutinizing potential regulatory violations related to both the pilot and the aircraft.

(With inputs from Associated Press)