On New Year’s eve, a brutal scene unraveled when an Airline’s engine sucked in a ground crew member, resulting in their death. Let’s discuss the preliminary report on the incident with Ehline Law and our personal injury attorneys.
Ground Worker Pulled to Her Death by a Plane Operated by Envoy Air
On New Year’s eve, a plane landed at Alabama’s Montgomery Regional Airport and required 2 minutes of cooling time. While leaving both engines on, the pilot requested to connect the entire aircraft to ground power as the auxiliary power unit wasn’t working.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board report, the flight crew warned the workers to stay back after they saw them approaching the grounded plane.
The Plane’s Engines Running and Airplane’s Rotating Beacon Light Switched on, Report Reveals
The report states that the flight crew even switched on the emergency lights and crew alerting system to warn the workers that the jet’s engine was still running.
Most ground workers saw the hazard and stayed clear, but it was too late for one airport worker who got sucked into the front operating engine and suffered fatal injuries.
Preliminary Report Reveals Multiple Safety Training Carried out by MGM
34-year-old ground handling agent for Piedmont Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, and a mother of three, Courtney Edwards, received multiple warnings from the pilot and the safety lights and the NTSB review also revealed that the MGM ground crew had several safety meetings in advance before the plane’s landing.
In the initial safety meeting, the management repeatedly warned the crew that the plane engine would be running and the team must stay clear during the 2-minute cool-down period. The second safety huddle took place before the airplane arrived at the gate.
Besides the safety briefing before the plane’s landing, the crew members have access to the American Eagle Ground Operations Manual, which alerts the crew to stay away from airplanes if warning lights are flashing while the engine is still on. It warns workers to avoid coming within 15 feet of an engine, referring to the area as an ingestion zone.
Edwards Repeatedly Warned to Stay Back but Gets Sucked into Plane Engine, Airport Worker Reports
When Edwards started approaching the plane with an orange safety cone to carry out her daily work routine, multiple ground crew members warned her to stay back.
Whether she did not see the warning lights or ignored them, the incident turned a joyous new year’s eve into a bloody mess.
One of the crew members reported that they saw Edwards nearly fall over from the exhaust of the running jet engine, and they tried to warn her to keep her distance.
Another worker was also approaching the jet but backed away immediately after receiving the warning from the pilot.
Airport and Staff Mourns the Tragic Death of an American Airlines Handling Agent
Despite New Year’s eve being a hectic day at the Montgomery Regional Airport, operations reached a standstill at 3 PM and only resumed five and a half hours later. The Executive Director of MGM, Wade A. Davis, released an official statement that day expressing his grief over the tragic incident and a loss of a valuable team member.
The Plane Shake Violently Before Shutting off, Co-pilot Reported
Following the incident, the co-pilot reported that the airplane shook violently before an immediate automatic shutdown. According to the preliminary report, the pilot saw Edwards back off after she saw a co-worker warning her, but it was too late, and he heard a bang before the engine shut off.
The family set up a GoFundMe campaign for the deceased ground worker requesting people from all over the world to donate and help the surviving family members, which includes Edwards’s mother and her three young children.
It is important to note that the report released by the NTSB is an initial report and does not mention the cause of the brutal accident. The agency typically releases an investigative report a year or so after a preliminary report.
In the “Alabama Airline worker sucked into plane engine was warned to stay back” incident,if the final report suggests that Edwards was not invited to the safety meetings or notified about the issue, her family may have grounds to pursue a wrongful death claim.
However, if Edwards was negligent, listening to music, or distracted while on the job, she may not have a legal case.
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If you’ve suffered injuries in an accident due to another’s negligence or wrongdoing, contact us at (833) LETS-SUE for a free consultation, as you may be able to recover compensation.
