--- description: World's luckiest lottery winner survives helicopter crash on his own front yard unscathed. title: Lottery Winner Survives Helicopter Crash on His Front Yard image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Some Guys Have All the Luck. Lottery Winner Survives Helicopter Crash on His Front Yard by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 3, 2018 2:38 PM CUT by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 3, 2018 2:38 PM CUT Anyone who [wins the lottery](http://time.com/5134991/winner-powerball-560-million-anonymity/ "undefined") is clearly incredibly lucky and anyone who emerges unscathed after crashing the helicopter he bought with his winnings is doubly so. Timothy Kniess won $100,000 on a [scratch-off ticket](http://time.com/5134991/winner-powerball-560-million-anonymity/ "undefined") he picked up last October during a trip to his local convenience store. After state and federal taxes, he took home more than $69,504 and, according to the [_Gaston Gazette_](http://www.gastongazette.com/news/20171017/wifes-good-fortune-nets-man-100000 "undefined"), he plans to buy a workshop with his winnings. He may have bought a workshop, but he also picked up a single-seat Mosquito Aviation XE helicopter, despite the fact that he reportedly wasn’t an experienced pilot. During a morning flight, Kniess lost control of the helicopter and it crashed and caught fire. Kniess, though, was able to crawl out of the helicopter before the fire spread and walked away, only suffering minor scrapes and bruises, according to the North Carolina newspaper, [_the_ ](http://www.shelbystar.com/news/20180502/lottery-winner-lucky-again-to-survive-helicopter-crash "undefined")[_Shelby Star_.](http://www.shelbystar.com/news/20180502/lottery-winner-lucky-again-to-survive-helicopter-crash "undefined") “The pilot was very fortunate that he did not receive injuries more severe than he did,” Highway Patrol Trooper Jeffrey Swagger, who responded to the crash, told the _Shelby Star._ Another stroke of luck? Kniess may just have enough money leftover from his lottery winnings to buy a replacement helicopter, although that may be pushing Lady Luck a little too far. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5264417/lottery-winner-crashes-helicopter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5264417/lottery-winner-crashes-helicopter/"},"headline":"Some Guys Have All the Luck. Lottery Winner Survives Helicopter Crash on His Front Yard","datePublished":"2018-05-03T14:38:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:52:36.898Z","description":"World's luckiest lottery winner survives helicopter crash on his own front yard unscathed.","url":"https://time.com/5264417/lottery-winner-crashes-helicopter/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5264417/lottery-winner-crashes-helicopter/","name":"Some Guys Have All the Luck. Lottery Winner Survives Helicopter Crash on His Front Yard"}}]}] ```