UPDATE | Injured PIA student in critical condition

Published March 28, 2019 at 6:47 a.m.
Updated March 28, 2019 at 2:48 p.m.

VIENNA

The Vienna Police Department today released a report on the accident that severely injured a Poland man at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics Wednesday. The injury occurred when an aircraft engine started up while he and another student were working on it.

Zachary J. Norris, 20, of Lee Lynn Court, suffered a severe laceration to his face from being hit by the propeller. He remains at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital in critical but stable condition.

The other student, Cody W. Keller, 28, of Wildwood Avenue in New Castle, suffered apparent broken bones in his hand from being struck by the propeller.

The students were turning the propeller to move the oil in the motor when it started running momentarily, striking both students. The motor was on a stand in the PIA hangar at the Youngstown Warren Regional Airport, not on an airplane. Keller was treated at St. Elizabeth's and later released.

When police arrived at the school, they found Norris unconscious and several people around him providing medical aid.

The school closed yesterday after the 10:49 a.m. accident and remains closed today to help facilitate the investigation into the cause of the accident, the aviation mechanic school's president said in a press release.