FAA will investigate PIA accident

VIENNA — The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the accident at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics that injured two students Wednesday, one of them critically, a FAA spokesperson said Saturday.

Elizabeth Isham Cory, an FAA spokesperson for the Great Lakes Region, explained that aviation schools must have an active certification from the FAA in order to operate and and must comply with FAA regulations. She said the FAA oversees the curriculum.

"The FAA's aviation safety inspectors will conduct the investigation," she said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Vienna Police Chief Bob Ludt told reporters he had checked with the FAA and other agencies, to see whether any of them needed to be notified of the accident or would be investigating it. The FAA said it did not have jurisdiction because the accident did not involve an aircraft, Ludt said.

A Poland man, 20, suffered serious head injuries when the propeller on an aircraft engine on a stand struck him. A New Castle, Pa., man, 28, suffered broken bones in his hand from also being struck by the propeller. Both were taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

A Vienna police report said the students were turning the propeller to move the oil in the motor, causing the motor to to start running momentarily. The man struck in the head was unconscious when police arrived.