A tragic accident claimed one life at Montgomery Airport in the US state of Alabama: A baggage handling worker fell into a running engine and was fatally injured.
A shocking accident at the US regional airport in Montgomery, Alabama, claimed one life and paralyzed flight operations for several hours. The details of the tragedy can be read in the British “Mirror”.
Baggage loader gets caught in a running engine – with fatal consequences
The tragedy unfolded in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve as an Envoy Air flight was preparing to depart for Dallas, Texas. During luggage loading, an employee of Piedmont Airlines, which like Envoy Air belongs to American Airlines, was caught and sucked in by the already running aircraft engine. An eyewitness described how his colleague was literally swallowed by the turbine. For the man, whose name and age were not publicly disclosed for the time being, any help came too late, and rescue workers pronounced the casualty dead at the scene of the accident.
Airport staff sucked in and killed by plane turbine – Airport closed for hours
The airport operators themselves tweeted after the accident: “Around 3 p.m. today, an American Airlines ground crew member was involved in a death in Piedmont. No further information is available at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased.”
Today around 3 pm an American Airlines ground crew piedmont employee was involved in a fatality, no additional information is available at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased.
— Montgomery Regional Airport (@flymgm) January 1, 2023
Cause of the accident unknown: the aviation authority is investigating
Flight operations have since resumed in Montgomery following the temporary closure of the regional airport. Investigations by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were initiated to clarify the circumstances of the accident. It was initially unclear whether the casualty was in the vicinity of the running turbines without authorization or whether the engines had been switched on prematurely.
MGM has resumed normal operations as of 8:30 pm this evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with the AA/Piedmont Airlines/employee’s family and ground crew. The FAA investigation of Piedmonts tragic accident continues. https://t.co/ixbvUm2HZc
— Montgomery Regional Airport (@flymgm) January 1, 2023
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