Georgia college student, 21, is killed in freak accident after being hit by plane’s propeller

A student in Georgia was killed on Sunday when he walked into the propeller of a Cessna plane and was struck twice in the head after using the aircraft for a date. 

Sani Aliyu, a student at Georgia Southern University and originally from Nigeria, had chauffeured his date on a 58-mile journey on the plane for dinner, but was struck dead in front of her when they landed back home.

Aliyu, 21, had flown to Savannah, Georgia, from Statesboro, where Georgia Southern University is located, with his date and two pilots he knew in a small Cessna plane before touching back down in Statesboro.

When the plane doors opened, Aliyu’s female friend stepped off and headed to the back of the plane, but Aliyu headed to the front, where he was struck twice by the plane’s propeller. 

He was pronounced dead at the scene at Statesboro-Bulloch County Airport. 

Sani Aliyu, a 21-year-old student at Georgia Southern University, was killed when he was struck by a plane propeller on Sunday at Statesboro-Bulloch County Airport

Aliyu had flown to Savannah on a date with a female friend, and was killed instantly when the propeller struck him twice in the head after he walked to the front of the plane after exiting

Bulloch County Coroner Jake Futch revealed Aliyu died immediately upon being struck despite an ambulance being called to the airport’s ramp area where the incident occurred at approximately 10.45pm. 

‘They flew to Savannah to go on a date, flew back, landed at the Statesboro Airport, and the young lady got off the plane and walked toward the back of the plane, and he got off the airplane and walked toward the front of the plane, and when he did, the propeller hit him,’ said Futch. 

Aliyu was a sophomore at the University and majored in management, according to Communications Manager Melanie Simón.

Simón relayed a statement from Georgia Southern’s dean of students Dr. Aileen C. Dowell, which read ‘We were deeply saddened to hear about the tragic incident that involved one of our students Sunday night.’ 

‘I have already been in touch with his family and professors, and we have mobilized all available resources to provide counseling and any other assistance the university can give,’ she added.

In a statement from Georgia Southern University, the school said it was ‘deeply saddened to hear about the tragic incident’

Capt. Todd Hutchens of the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office said police responded on Sunday night to collect information but details will be turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. 

‘Nobody is really at fault or anything, it was an accident, so we just have to communicate all of our information with them,’ Hutchens said. 

Hutchens added the plane was stationary when the incident occurred, and happened near the area where planes are parked. 

A preliminary investigation by the FAA said the plane was a 2005 Cessna 172S, a small plane with four seats. 

While the Administration does not identify people involved in accidents, they did provide the registration number, which indicated the plane was registered with American Aviation Inc. in Brooksville, Florida.