An American Airlines employee has died after being “swallowed” by the turbine of a plane parked at Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama, the National Transportation Safety Board has reported.
According to WSFA-TV, an Envoy/American Eagle Embraer 170-200 LR was parked outside a gate on Saturday with its parking brake on when, according to the NTSB, a ground worker was somehow pushed into one of the engine. the plane. .
KRLD radio reported that the ground worker was handling the luggage, although the airline has yet to issue an official statement on the incident or identify the employee.
Wade Davis, the airport’s general manager, said in a statement Sunday that he was “saddened to learn of the tragic loss of a member of the AA/Piedmont Airlines team. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time.”
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No further details about the crash are yet available, and the NTSB said a preliminary report on the crash is expected to be released within the next two to three weeks.
Flight 3408 was scheduled to leave Montgomery for DFW Airport around 3 p.m. Saturday. The airport ceased operations after the accident but resumed service around 8:30 p.m. the same day.
FAA and NTSB investigations are ongoing.