Horror as skydiving employee, 24, is killed after walking into spinning plane PROPELLER while asking her colleague if he wanted lunch

Sarah Rhoads, 24, died early Tuesday at a Dayton, Ohio, hospital, where she was flown after the accident Sunday in Middletown

The Miamisburg resident had been office manager for three years at Start Skydiving, which operates near Middletown Regional Airport

She had been asking a pilot if he wanted food when she inadvertently walked into another plane's propeller blades, which can be difficult to see



Owner John Hart said it's the first time the business has had such an accident



Hart said he and other skydivers landed at the airport some 10 minutes after the accident, descending into a grisly scene

He described it as 'absolutely horrible' and the 'worst nightmare of my life'

Tragic: Sarah Rhoads, 24, pictured, died early Tuesday at a Dayton hospital, where she was flown after the accident Sunday in Middletown

An employee at a southwest Ohio skydiving business has died from head injuries she suffered when she walked into a spinning airplane propeller.

Sarah Rhoads, 24, died early Tuesday at a Dayton hospital, where she was flown after the accident Sunday in Middletown.



The Miamisburg resident had been office manager for three years at Start Skydiving, which operates near Middletown Regional Airport.

Owner John Hart said it's the first time the business has had such an accident. He said it can be difficult to see fast-spinning propeller blades.



'It doesn't get any worse than this,' Hart told the Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News. 'She was like a daughter. I loved that girl.'



Co-workers said Rhoads had walked out onto the tarmac planning to ask a pilot if he wanted food.



But she inadvertently walked into the propeller of another plane that was idling on the tarmac, they said.



She was transported to Miami Valley Hospital by Careflight and she was listed in critical condition Sunday and Monday.



Hart said he and other skydivers who had been performing in Jacksonville, Florida, landed at the airport some 10 minutes after the accident, decending into a grisly scene.



He described it as 'absolutely horrible' and the 'worst nightmare of my life.'



Mistake: The Miamisburg resident, pictured second to right with friends, had been office manager for three years at Start Skydiving, which operates near Middletown Regional Airport

Airplane: Ms Rhoads inadvertently walked into the propeller of a plane, pictured, that was idling on the tarmac

Middletown Fire Captain Jeff Spaulding told the newspaper he believes the pilot issued warnings to the victim to keep away from the plane.



'She just made an error,' Hart said. 'Usually the propellers are going so fast, you can't see them. She probably walked around the nose and didn't see it.'



The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate.



Hart said an annual Labor Day event at the airport, called the 'Work Stinks Boogie,' will be renamed the 'Sarah Boogie' this year.

