death of a ground worker ingested by an aircraft engine

An employee of the ground handling staff of an American Airlines subsidiary was killed in an accident on Saturday afternoon, December 31, at Montgomery Regional Airport, Alabama in the United States. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family,” the airport posted in a social media post hours later.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the US National Transportation Safety Board said they had opened an investigation. The accident occurred where the Embraer E175 of American Airlines flight 3408, operated by the regional company Envoy Air, was parked. The flight had been scheduled for departure to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. It was canceled after the tragedy.

The “worker was fatally injured on the runway at Montgomery Regional Airport where American Airlines Flight 3408, an Embraer E175, was parked,” the FAA said in a statement sent to American media AL.com. Authorities say the man was “ingested by the engine” of the plane while it was parked at the gate with the handbrake on. He died instantly. No other details were given.

A time stopped, the flights resumed at 8:30 p.m. the same day. American Airlines did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press requesting additional information. The name of this employee of Piedmont Airlines, a regional subsidiary of American Airlines, has not yet been released.