Student Killed by Plane Propeller at Airport in Georgia

Authorities said that a college student lost his life after being struck by a small plane's propeller as he exited the aircraft at an airfield in southeast Georgia.

According to FAA spokesman Steve Kulm, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Board are looking into the death that occurred Sunday evening at Statesboro-Bulloch County Airport.

Bulloch County Coroner Jake Futch told the Statesboro Herald that Sani Aliyu, of Atlanta, and a young woman had flown in the single-engine Cessna to the neighbouring city of Savannah and back on a date. On the way back to Statesboro, he claimed the aircraft touched down safely.

Futch stated that as the man exited the aircraft and moved toward the front of the aircraft, the propeller struck him. The woman exited the aircraft and moved toward the back of the aircraft, Futch said.

According to Melanie Simon, a representative for Georgia Southern University, Aliyu was a sophomore student there.

According to Capt. Todd Hutchens of the Bulloch County Sheriff's Office, a pilot and a co-pilot had flown the couple. He stated that the NTSB and FAA were receiving information from the deputies.

Hutchens declared, "Nobody is actually at fault or anything." It happened by mistake.