Man Dies After Rotor Blades Of The Chopper He Built Slash His Throat

In a tragic incident, a 29-year-old aviation enthusiast died after the rotor blades of the helicopter he was building slashed his throat. The man, a school dropout, was testing the chopper Tuesday night when the rotor blade broke off.

Police said Sheikh Ismail Sheikh Ibrahim, hailing from Nagpur, a city in Maharashtra, India, was a high school dropout and a welder. He began working on the copter, called 'Munna Helicopter,' two years ago after developing an interest in aviation, reported The Indian Express.

"One of the blades fell off and hit the youth on his head," a senior police official told the news outlet.

According to his friends, Sheikh had always wanted to do something unique and was fascinated by helicopters. He watched several videos and gathered information about the design before starting working on the machine. It took him two years to collect the spare parts including rotors, shaft, and landing skids.

He also traveled to the Southern Indian city of Bengaluru where he met experts who helped him in his endeavor. He then began building the prototype of a single-seater helicopter by welding steel pipes and with the help of an engine of a small car to power his chopper.

On Tuesday night, he decided to do a trial run. "Ismail wanted to exhibit the helicopter on Independence Day (Aug.15) this year. So he decided to test the flying machine near his workshop. On Tuesday night, he occupied the pilot seat and started the engine as some of his friends watched in awe," Sheikh's friend Sachin Ubale told The Times Of India.

When the engine gained power, the tail rotor came off and hit the main rotor, which in turn, struck Sheikh, who was inside the machine.

Though his friends rushed him to a nearby government hospital, he was declared dead on arrival.

Though Sheikh would always wear protective gear when he did trial runs, he chose not to on Tuesday, friends added.

"He used to test the functioning of the chopper very often. Earlier, he had been successful in lifting the helicopter 5 feet above the ground. It was his final trial on Tuesday," another friend of Sheikh told The Times Of India.

The police have filed a case of accidental death and are waiting to record the statement of family members. Reports say charges of causing death by negligence may be filed. He was buried Wednesday amid a large gathering.