Utica Man Suffers Gruesome Injury To His Arm Due To Airplane Propeller

A Utica man is recovering from a major injury he suffered in Verona caused by an aircraft.

The Oneida County Sheriff's Office is reporting that deputies were called to Teuscher Road just before 3PM Wednesday for a reported aircraft related injury.

Officials say when deputies arrived they discovered 81-year-old Henry Lafflair suffering and bleeding. Lafflair told officials he attempted to "hand prop" his Cessna airplane in order to start the engine. To hand prop a plane is essentially to manually spin the front propeller rapidly with the palms open on both hands.

Officials say as a result of the hand propping, the propeller subsequently struck Lafflair in the arm, causing the severe injury. The deputies who responded to the scene applied a  tourniquet to Lafflair until EMS personnel arrived. Eventually, Lafflair was transported by helicopter to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.

The injuries suffered by Lafflair are not thought to be life threatening and Oneida County deputies are still investigating the incident. Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol wants to thank all those who assisted at the scene including Vineall Ambulance and the Verona Fire Department.