A 19-year-old man was killed when his own remote-controlled model helicopter struck him in the head at a park in Brooklyn, media reports said.
An avid helicopter enthusiast, Roman Pirozek Jr. of Woodhaven, Queens, was piloting the large model at a park Thursday when he lost control and it hit him, the New York Times reported.
The helicopter blades sliced off the top of his head, police were quoted as saying.
The accident occurred at Calvert Vaux Park, popular with enthusiasts eager to try out new stunts with powerful model helicopters that they have either built themselves or adapted.
The model helicopter had a blade span of 157.5 cm, with a rotor that spins at more than 2,000 rpm. It weighed nearly 2.7 kg.
Pirozek's own father watched in horror as his son's helicopter slashed off a chunk of his head, the Wall Street Journal reported.