According to airport officials, one airport employee was killed on Saturday at Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama after being sucked into the engine of an American Airlines-subsidized plane.
The employee, who was only described as a luggage handler, was slain while the American Airlines airplane was parked at the gate. According to WSFA-12, the plane was set to depart for Dallas later Saturday afternoon.
“Today around 3 pm an American Airlines ground crew piedmont employee was involved in a fatality, no additional information is available at this time,” the airport said in a tweet. “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
The incident will be investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board. According to the FAA, the airport has since closed and will reopen on Sunday. According to the publication, the plane was flown by American Airlines subsidiary Envoy Air.
A similar occurrence occurred earlier this year in New Orleans, when Jermani Thompson, 26, died while unloading bags from a Frontier Airlines flight in September. Thompson’s hair became stuck in the belt loader mechanism, according to CBS News at the time.
