An instructive video of what happens if you violate safety regulations and get too close to a landing plane has appeared on the Internet. A tourist was seriously injured after being hit by a jet plane on the popular Greek island of Skiathos last Wednesday. She did not die only thanks to a lucky accident.
A 61-year-old woman was standing near the runway, trying to photograph the aircraft, when a strong gust of wind from the plane’s engines hit her and blew her off the ground. The woman hit the rocks. The tragic incident was captured on video by a local news site, Greekreporter reported.
Doctors at the local medical center discovered that she had serious head injuries, a fractured pelvis, as well as lacerations to her right shoulder and left wrist. The woman was taken by boat to a hospital in Volos, the nearest mainland city.
This is the second such accident in the last few weeks. In June, a 79-year-old man suffered minor injuries after being hit by a jet from a passenger plane. During the day, the man was standing outside the fenced area of Skiathos Airport in the northwest Aegean Sea when he was thrown to the ground by the force of the plane’s turbines. He was taken to a local medical center where he was treated for injuries and lacerations.
Reference: Skiathos Airport is a favorite place for plane spotters, i.e., planes spotters. Skiathos International Airport named after Alexandros Papadiamantis is the most convenient place for this, as planes operate here on a single short and narrow runway located near residential buildings. In addition, the strip is surrounded by the sea, a lagoon, and a hill. Among pilots, it is considered the most difficult, as it does not give chances for maneuvering and additional “rollover”. However, its location provides spectacular take-offs and landings for tourists.
This is an extremely popular destination for people known as ‘air spotters’. According to local media reports, many residents and tourists come close to the fence every day, trying to capture the moment when the planes fly as low as possible over their heads. Despite prominent signs and warnings from authorities to keep people off the airport runway, many holidaymakers ignore the rule.
The island’s airport is often compared to Princess Juliana International Airport on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten because of its runways, which are a few steps from the sea and also extremely difficult for pilots.