Aviation
Alabama airline worker sucked into engine with ‘bang,’ plane filled with passengers shook violently
According to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation into a New Year’s Eve event in which a ground crew member died at a Montgomery, Alabama airport after being sucked into an airplane’s engine, the plane “shook violently” as it shut off with a “boom.”
The NTSB reported that an Embraer 170 aircraft operated by Envoy Air landed at Montgomery Regional Airport with 63 passengers on board shortly after the ramp agent’s death occurred. Courtney Edwards, a 34-year-old mother of three, has recently been revealed as the ramp agent.
According to the preliminary investigation, the airplane’s auxiliary power unit was malfunctioning when it arrived from Dallas, and the captain signalled for it to be linked to ground power instead of choosing to “keep both engines running for the required two-minute engine cool down period.”
The report states that the first officer opened his cockpit window to let the ramp agent know that the engines were still running while the captain was turning off the plane’s right engine. At that time, the captain had received a communication that the front cargo door had opened.
Just ten minutes before the jet landed at the gate, the other crew members working the trip told the NTSB that they attended a joint safety briefing. Then, just prior to the arrival of the plane, they held another safety “huddle” during which they addressed the continuation of the engines’ operation and the need for no one to approach the aircraft.
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This briefing contained a warning that ground personnel should wait until the engines have been turned off before approaching the aircraft with safety cones. The dead employee appeared to be seen walking to the back of the aircraft with a safety cone on the surveillance footage.
The upper and lower aircraft beacon lights were blinking in the moments before the fatal incident, which is an important sign that the engines are working.
The incident did not injure any of the 59 passengers or four crew members. The aircraft returned to service on January 8 after being grounded for several days and continues to fly for American Eagle. The NTSB did not say when the final report will be released.
