A worker of an airline ground crew died after being sucked into a plane’s engine that was stationed at the Montgomery airport in Alabama, US.
According to New York Post, the freak accident occurred on Saturday at 3 pm (local time). The aircraft was parked after completing a journey from Dallas.
At that time, one of its engines was still running and the worker, unaware of it, got ingested into the engine. The deceased, who has not been identified, was working for Piedmont Airlines, a subsidiary of the American Airlines Group.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the employee was killed on the ramp where American Airlines Flight 3408, an Embraer E175 twin-jet, was parked.
“We are saddened to hear about the tragic loss of a team member of the AA/Piedmont Airlines,” the airport’s executive director, Wade Davis, said in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time,” he added.
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A joint probe has been initiated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FAA. The NTSB in a statement said that a preliminary report is expected in the next two to three weeks.
The American Airlines, in an official statement, said that was devastated by the accident, and added that its focus was on ensuring all the support to everyone involved during this difficult time.
All flights, outbound and inbound, via the Montgomery airport were grounded for a brief period, following the accident. Later, the Montgomery Regional Airport in a Twitter post mentioned that normal operations resumed at 8:30 pm (local time).
(With inputs from agencies)
