14 DAY TRIAL // A North Carolina man operating a lawnmower at a privately owned airport lost his hand after he was hit by a small plane.
The bizarre accident happened on Saturday at about 12:30 pm, when 74-year-old John Rufty was mowing the lawn on a small landing strip at Taylorsville Airport in Alexander County. According to Daily News, a single-engine plane collided with the lawnmower operator while landing at the airport.
Unfortunately, the private airport isn't monitored by traffic controllers, so nobody was there to warn the elderly man about the plane. On the other hand, the pilot did not see the man when he was attempting to land the plane.
“[Rufty] wouldn’t have been able to hear or see the plane coming. And the pilot was unable to see the driver until just before impact,” State Highway Patrol Sergeant Brian Owenby told the New York Daily News.
The plane, a 1971 Citabria 7ECA manufactured by Champion, was being flown by experienced pilot Edward Eugene Sisson, who was reportedly traveling from Crossville, Tennessee, to visit family in Taylorsville.
Owenby said that despite the pilot's advanced age, he seemed capable of flying the plane. Sisson's skills have been recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with inclusion in the prestigious FAA Airmen Certification Database in September last year.
Russell Greene, the emergency services coordinator for the county, informed that Rufty's left hand was completely severed in the accident. The man was immediately flown to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. The 84-year-old pilot was not injured during the collision.
Apparently, the plane touched down toward the west end of the field, and as it approached the end of the strip, its right wing struck Rufty who was riding the lawnmower. Photos of the accident show the small aircraft upside down, with the flipped lawnmower underneath its wing.
“This is a simple grass strip, small planes only. Typically, pilots circle the field, make sure the field is clear, and then come in and land,” Greene said, as cited by the Hickory Record.
As it turns out, the victim keeps a hangar at the airport and takes care of the landing field, which is located on Airport Road off N.C. 90.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration's registers, the plane is registered to the pilot, Edward Sisson.
The competent authorities, including the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration, are currently investigating the incident and no charges have been laid so far.