On Saturday, a ground worker at Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama died in a horrific freak accident when he was “ingested into the engine” of an American Airlines jetliner.
Bruce Bennett | Getty Images
The accident took place after at least one of the engines of American Airlines Flight 3408/Embraer E175 was left running while parked at the gate, per Reuters.
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
“We are saddened to hear about the tragic loss of a team member of the AA/Piedmont Airlines. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time,” said Wade A. Davis, the airport’s executive director, in a statement.
The airport immediately shut down after the accident and reopened later Saturday night. The incident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transpiration Safety Board. The identity of the worker was not made immediately known.
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