A school dropout, who wanted to build a helicopter, died when one of the blades of his prototype slashed his throat while he was testing it.
Sheikh Ismail Sheikh Ibrahim, 24, a school dropout from Maharashtra’s Fulsawangi village in Mahagaon tehsil, India, had built a single-seater helicopter prototype out of steel pipes.
His ambition was to accomplish something extraordinary in order to bring fame to his village. So he decided to build a chopper called ‘Munna Helicopter’ after his nickname.
“Inspired by the character of Rancho in the film ‘3 Idiots,’ Ismail wanted to do something unique and thus decided to build a helicopter in the village,” his friend Sachin told the Times of India.
He began working on his dream project after gathering information about the design and assembly by watching YouTube videos.
“It took nearly two years for Ismail to collect all the parts needed. He also readied the prototype of a single-seater helicopter by welding steel pipes and fitted a Maruti 800 engine to power it.”
Ismail wanted to show off his helicopter to the entire village on Independence Day, so he decided to test the prototype in front of his friends near his workshop on Tuesday, August 10th.
Everyone witnessed Ismail start the engine. The rotor blades then began to move quickly. Following that, the tail rotor blade was ripped from the body and collided with the main blades on top.
Before anyone could intervene, a broken blade slashed Ismail’s throat, causing him to collapse on the ground.
He was rushed to Pusad’s nearest hospital. He did not, however, survive.