This must have been a horrible sight…
A tragic incident occurred at San Antonio International Airport Friday night when a Texas airport worker was tragically thrown into a jet engine and lost his life, according to a report.
Just before 10.30pm, emergency crews were rushed to the tarmac in response to distressing reports of a ground worker “ingested” the engine of a recently landed plane.
The incident unfolded when the Delta flight, which was arriving from Los Angeles, had only one engine running at the time.
From The New York Post:
“Delta Flight 1111 was approaching the gate, with one engine running at the time, and a worker was ingested into that engine at 10:25 p.m.,” the NTSB said in a statement to KENS5.
The investigation into the worker’s death is ongoing.
“The NTSB has been in contact with Delta. They are in the process of gathering information at this time,” the Transportation Board added.
The unidentified worker was employed by Unifi Aviation, a company that hires workers from airlines such as Delta that provide ground handling operations.
“Unifi Aviation is deeply saddened by the loss of our employee at San Antonio International Airport during a tragic incident late on Friday, June 23, 2023,” the service company said Saturday, according to the outlet.
“Our hearts go out to the family of the deceased and we remain focused on supporting our employees on the ground and ensuring they are cared for during this time.”
The company stated that its initial investigation could not link the death to any of the operational safety procedures the company has in place.
Although the details of this incident have not been fully disclosed, there are aspects that raise concern.
The occurrence of individuals “sucked” into an aircraft engine is exceptionally rare, which makes it even more perplexing. It strongly suggests that there may have been a malfunction or operational error at play.