An airport employee Texas died after being sucked into the engine of a plane that had just landed, as announced this Sunday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The victim was sucked in on Friday, around 10:30 pm (local time), by an aircraft that had landed at the San Antonio International Airport from Los Angeles, California, and that was heading for the departure gate with only one engine runningas reported by the US agency in charge of investigating transport accidents.
The deceased -who was a ramp worker- worked for the company Unifi Aviationa company that provides ground handling services to several airlines, including Delta Airlines.
Unifi Aviation He pointed out that what happened was “a tragic accident” outside the usual procedures of his activity and responsibility of the staff.
The airline said it was “deeply saddened” by what happened and assured that it is cooperating with the authorities leading the investigation.
The company also expressed its condolences to the relatives of the deceased and clarified that “out of respect” for them it will not share “any additional information” about the incident.
One source, cited by The Guardiansaid that apparently the worker had “intentionally stood in front of the running engine” of the plane, but there is still no official statement, because the case is still being investigated.
Piedmont Airlines – a subsidiary of American Airlines – was fined $15,625 on June 21 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), for the death of an airport worker in an accident occurred in similar circumstances.
