An elderly man had his hand severed after he was hit by a small plane while cutting the grass at a North Carolina airport.

John Rufty, 74, was using a riding lawn mower when he was hit at the Taylorsville Airport Saturday afternoon, the Hickory Daily Record newspaper reports.

Russell Greene, the emergency management co-ordinator for the county, told the paper Rufty's hand was severed and taken with him to hospital.

The pilot, Edward Sisson, 84, of Crossville, Tenn., wasn't injured.

The plane's right wing struck Rufty as he mowed. The plane then flipped end over end and came to rest upside down with Rufty and the mower underneath the wing.

Taylorsville is about 100 km north of Charlotte.