Single mom of three Samantha Hayes, 27, dies after being hit by a plane wing as she mowed the grass

A SINGLE mom of three has died after she was struck by an airplane wing while mowing the grass at an airport.

Samantha Hayes, 27, was working at Broken Bow Airport in Oklahoma when a 70-year-old pilot touched down on the runway at around 2.30pm.

The pilot, James Baxter, saw Hayes working and tried to pull back up on the plane to get the wing over her, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.

But the maneuver was too late, and she was killed on impact after being struck in the head.

Baxter was unharmed in the incident.

Hayes' death is being investigated by officials.

She worked in the parks department for the city of Broken Bow, which is about three hours south of Tulsa.

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"This isn't goodbye but I'll see you later, I love you Sammy. You should be here."

The Broken Bow airport is small with a runway that only stretches 3,200 feet.

The airport does not employ air traffic controllers, so pilots self-announce their landings and takeoffs.

"We are heartbroken and devastated by the passing of one of our team members on September 29," City Manager Vickie Patterson said in a statement.

"This is a terribly tragic accident, and our deepest sympathies go out to the employees' family and friends.

"It's critical that we determine how this accident occurred so we can take steps to prevent something like this from happening again.

"Our goal is to return every employee home safely every day."

Patterson said based on the city's investigation, extra safety measures could be put in place.

Another friend of Hayes asked for prayers and promised to help take care of her three orphaned children.

"Them babies will know how much their momma loved them," she wrote on Facebook.