Accident Under Investigation

A ramp-worker at Texas’s San Antonio International Airport (SAT) lost his life on Friday, 23 June 2023 after being ingested into the operating engine of an arriving Delta Air Lines Airbus A319.

Emergency responders were summoned to the accident scene at approximately 22:25 CDT.

The aircraft, then operating as Delta Flight 1111, had arrived from Los Angeles and was taxiing to its SAT arrival gate. The NTSB reported the Airbus, at the time of the accident, was taxiing under power of only one of its two CFM-56 engines.

The decedent, whose name remains undisclosed, was in the employ of Unifi Aviation, the U.S.’s largest provider of ground-handling services. Unifi was formed in 2018 following Delta Air Lines divestiture of its stake in DAL Global Services—which was sold to Argenbright Holdings, an Atlanta-based, privately-held group of companies with foci in aviation services, security, and facilities management. Unifi is jointly owned by Argenbright and Delta, which hold 51- and 49-percent stakes in the enterprise respectively.  

Unifi set forth in a post-accident statement:

"Unifi Aviation is deeply saddened by the loss of our employee at San Antonio International Airport during a tragic incident in the late hours of Friday, June 23, 2023. 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 being taken care of during this time.

"From our initial investigation, this incident was unrelated to Unifi’s operational processes, safety procedures, and policies. Out of respect for the deceased, we will not be sharing any additional information. While police and other officials continue to investigate this incident, we defer to them on providing further details."

In a statement of their own, SAT officials disclosed they were "deeply saddened" by the incident and cooperating with federal agencies’ investigations thereof.

Delta Air Lines expressed its condolences to the victim’s loved ones, stating: "We are heartbroken and grieving the loss of an aviation family member’s life in San Antonio. Our hearts and full support are with their family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time."

An unnamed individual with ostensible ties to the incident reported on condition of anonymity that the worker had “intentionally stepped in front of the live engine.”

On 31 December 2022, Piedmont Airlines baggage handler Courtney Edwards, lost her life after being bodily ingested into the operating portside engine of an Embraer E175LR regional jet parked on the ramp of Alabama’s Montgomery Regional Airport (MGM).

Notwithstanding Edwards having been formally trained to comply with ramp safety rules implemented by the airline and repeatedly warned of the perils inherent disregarding such, OSHA deemed Piedmont culpable in the death of the 34-year-old mother of three.

The agency fined Piedmont $15,625 for what it called a "serious violation for exposing ground crew workers to ingestion hazards while performing aircraft marshaling, wing-walking, and baggage-handling tasks."

OSHA contended: "The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or were likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees that were exposed to ingestion and jet blast hazards.”

In addition to instantiating the maximum dollar-amount permitted under law, the penalty levied by OSHA disregards exculpatory empirical evidence collected and reported upon by the NTSB.

In its January 2023 preliminary report on the accident, the NTSB made clear that the ground crew of which Edwards was part had held not one but two safety meetings prior to the Embraer regional jet’s arrival in Montgomery.

The first meeting was convened ten-minutes before the aircraft landed at MGM. The second meeting—a safety huddle held immediately prior to the E175LR’s arrival at MGM Gate-4—was held for purpose of reminding workers the arriving aircraft’s “engines would remain running” and explicitly advising ramp personnel the jet should be kept clear of until its engines had been shut down by the flight-crew and its rotating beacon turned off.

The NTSB report further stated the Embraer’s SIC attempted to inform ramp workers that the aircraft’s engines were still running.

The report continued: "Immediately thereafter, he [the SIC] saw a warning light illuminate and the airplane shook violently followed by the immediate automatic shutdown of the number-one engine. Unsure of what had occurred, he extinguished the emergency lights and shut off both batteries before leaving the flight deck to investigate.”

NTSB investigators reported the Embraer’s rotating beacon had indeed remained illuminated throughout the incident.

Airport surveillance video showed Edwards walking along the leading-edge of the Embraer’s left wing and in front of its number-one (portside) engine.

A co-worker shouted a warning and waved Edwards off, compelling her to commence moving away from the aircraft—albeit to no avail.

"She was subsequently pulled off her feet and into the operating engine," the NTSB report asserted.

To the subject of the 23 June San Antonio tragedy, the NTSB states it has been in contact with Delta Air Lines and is about the process of gathering information germane to the accident.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov