RUSSIAN authorities were today probing the freak death of a woman killed by a homemade missile launched by her husband.

The victim was looking on as her aviation-enthusiast spouse assembled his makeshift rocket in a field, RIA Novosti reported.

But the launch when horribly wrong when the missile blasted off and veered toward her, striking the woman in the head.

Authorities in Vologda, northwest Russia, said the wife was rushed to the hospital but died soon after the accident, which happened earlier this month.

"During the launch, the model rocket veered off course and hit his wife in the head. The woman died in the hospital," investigators said today.

The 42-year-old husband, who works for an aviation company, could face up to two years in prison for manslaughter, the state-owned Russian news agency said.

Originally published as Man kills wife with homemade missile