Skydiving photographer Amanda Gallagher dies after walking backwards into plane propeller

Amanda Gallagher (inset) died when she walked into a plane's propeller. Photo / Amanda Gallagher / KAKE

A professional US photographer died after walking backward into a plane propeller while trying to get the perfect shot.

Amanda Gallagher, 37, who was also a keen skydiver, died on Saturday at Air Capital Drop Zone, an event held at Cook Airfield in Kansas.

Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said Gallagher received critical injuries after she “made contact with a grounded and stationary, but still running plane.”

She was rushed to nearby Wesley Medical Centre but could not be saved.

KAKE News reported that police at the scene said Gallagher was taking photos of skydivers getting on planes and coming back into land when the accident happened.

Amanda Gallagher was a photographer who had recently taken up skydiving. Photo / Amanda Gallagher

A GoFundMe appeal for Gallagher said she died “doing what she loved, skydiving and taking pictures”.

“Amanda Gallagher was kind, adventurous, creative and beautiful inside and out. She was a loving daughter, sister, aunt and friend and will be greatly missed,” the appeal read.

A spokesperson for Cook Airfield posted a state meant to social media, saying: “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.

“I wasn’t there when it happened, so I will not speculate on what could have or should have happened differently,” the spokesperson added.

“Just please keep her family, her friends and her Air Capital Drop Zone family in your prayers and thoughts.”

Gallagher recently completed her first solo skydiving jump, sharing video online with the caption: “This was my first solo jump!! I’m in love.”

She said that skydiving was the “best feeling ever”.

Friends paid tribute to the photographer online, saying she was a “good positive light in this world”.

A plane on Cook Airfield on the day of the accident. Photo / KAKE.com

Others online empathised with the pilot at the controls of the plane.

“I feel terrible for the pilot. Having to experience that and know you can’t do anything to stop it. What a gut-wrenching pain,” one person said.

The incident is now under investigation.