Montogmery, Ala. — A member of an airline ground crew working at an Alabama airport died Saturday afternoon in an accident at the facility.
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement that a member of ground support personnel was "ingested into the engine" of an aircraft while it was parked at the gate with the parking brake set. The NTSB said Sunday that it has opened an investigation into the incident.
Montgomery Regional Airport said in a statement that an American Airlines/Piedmont Airlines employee died in an "industrial accident" around 3 p.m.
"We are saddened to hear about the tragic loss of a team member of the AA/Piedmont Airlines," airport Executive Director Wade Davis said in the statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time."
The airport said in a Twitter post that normal operations resumed at 8:30 p.m. and an FAA investigation into the incident is ongoing.
American Airlines did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional information.
Ok_Seaworthiness2218 on January 2nd, 2023 at 05:04 UTC »
That's gotta be deeply traumatizing for anyone working with this person as well. One moment you're chatting with your colleague about who knows what, preparing to do another flight prep and next thing you know you see them getting sucked into a jet engine and getting unrecognizably torn apart. Whoever was involved is never setting another foot on an airport again.
edwinthowaway on January 2nd, 2023 at 02:33 UTC »
Apparently it happened on arrival from what I read elsewhere. The standard is to have bags start to be scanned 2 minutes after arrival. So ground crew is rushed to get the baggage doors open.
Also this aircraft had an inoperable APU (auxiliary power unit). Aircraft have essentially 3 power sources: the engines, the terminal when on the ground, and the APU. It takes time to hook up to ground power, and normally they cut the engines and use the APU while waiting to be hooked up to the terminal for power. But for this aircraft, they had to keep the engines going. Sometimes the pilots can shut if one engine, but apparently did not here.
Likely in the rush to get to the baggage door, they didn’t take note of the engine and approached too soon. Also, the airport mostly sees smaller jets with tail mounted engines. The Embraer 175 was one of the few wing mounted engines they would see, which are far more dangerous to people on the ground.
pooterpon on January 2nd, 2023 at 01:38 UTC »
I saw a set of pictures once of a guy who was swallowed by a plane's engine. I think it was a military base. It goes without saying (I'll say it anyways) that it's likely a quick death, although that doesn't really add any comfort when it comes to someone that shouldn't be dead in the first place. Fucking tragic.