NEW YORK – In another aviation tragedy, an airport employee died after being sucked into a passenger plane engine in Texas.
Officials said that the victim was “ingested” into the engine of a Delta plane when it was taxiing towards its gate with one engine turned on.
It has been reported that initial investigations confirm the incident was unrelated to safety procedures, but how it happened is still a mystery.
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board said it had been in contact with Delta Air Lines and was collecting information currently.
The plane, an Airbus A319, landed at San Antonio on Friday night from Los Angeles International Airport.
The identity of the employee of Unifi Aviation has not been revealed; Unifi Aviation is engaged by Delta Air Lines for ground crew operations.
“From our initial investigation, this incident was unrelated to Unifi’s operational processes, safety procedures and policies,” the company said.
On the other hand, a Delta spokesperson said the airline was “heartbroken” to grieve the loss of an “aviation family member’s life”.
“Our hearts and full support are with their family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Just a week before the Delta incident, regional carrier Piedmont was fined $15,625 (£12,285) by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the death of a ground crew worker. The staff member named Courtney Edwards had died in December in a similar incident in Alabama.
The 34-year-old was “on the ramp at Montgomery Regional Airport where American Airlines Flight 3408, an Embraer E175, was parked” when the gory incident occurred.
Investigators had concluded that she and her colleagues had been warned repeatedly about the risks attached to going near a jet.
Meanwhile, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) later determined a safety breach had led to Edwards’s death.
