Skier Clipped by Plane, Suffers “Near Amputation”

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Emergency services gather around a plane which had earlier hit a woman skier while attempting take off at the French Alpine ski resort of Avoriaz. Photograph: Stephane Lerendu/AFP/Getty Images
Photograph: Stephane Lerendu/AFP/Getty Images

A Polish woman was seriously injured Thursdayย when she was hit by a plane careening down the slopes of Avoriaz in the French Alps.ย The ski-equipped Jodel single-prop plane failed to take off from aย snowy high-altitude runway near the ski area, and the pilot was unable to stop the plane as it slid into resort bounds.

The planeย skirted a group of children and slid under a chairlift before clipping a 55 year old Polish woman withย its propeller, almost completely severing her hand.ย Emergency services reported that she suffered a โ€œnear amputation”.

โ€œWe only narrowly avoided a catastrophe,โ€ said a firefighting source.

http://ski-resort.avoriaz.com/
http://ski-resort.avoriaz.com/

She was immediately attended to by a resort doctor before being airlifted to a local hospital for treatment.ย Albeit a senseless, tragic accident, it’s lucky no one was killed – the run was a beginner’s blue, and busy on a sunny Thursday afternoon.

The pilot, accompanied by one passenger,ย made a stopover in Avoriaz and was about to depart when the accident occurred.ย Local public prosecutor Patrick Steinmetz told AFP that the pilot was โ€œa professional who is used to these kind of conditions.โ€

Due to damage to takeoff, the aircraft, with two people on board, had to land on the ski area, where he hit a skier.
Image: Instagram / โ€‹โ€‹Arnaud Maru

 


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2 thoughts on “Skier Clipped by Plane, Suffers “Near Amputation”

  1. Amazing there were no other injuries so close to a lift.

    Hopefully the woman will make a full recovery.

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