An Oklahoma woman has died after she was hit by a small plane at airport in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, on Friday afternoon.
Samantha Hayes, 27, who worked for the city of Broken Bow’s parks department, was on a lawn mower at the Broken Bow Airport when the pilot of a 1972 Bonanza A36 landed on the runway around 2:30 p.m., according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The pilot, James Baxter, 70, descended the plane, landed and saw Hayes on the lawn mower after touching the runway, officials said.
He tried to pull up the plane and get the wing over her, but the wing struck her in the head and she died.
Hayes was pronounced dead at the scene because of a head injury. Baxter was unharmed in the crash, Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.
An investigation is ongoing.
Tributes on social media described Hayes as a single mother of three who worked hard and cherished her children.
Broken Bow is a small city in southeastern Oklahoma, near the Arkansas border, that stretches just over 6 square miles with a population of 4,120, according to the city’s website. The airport is small with a 3,200-foot runway.