Matthew McNulty
A Alabama working at the airport and a mother-of-three was sucked into a plane engine, creating a collision so violent it shook the entire plane and killed her after being repeatedly warned to stay away deviation of the aircraft’s engines.
Courtney Edwards34, from Alabama has since been identified as the ground handling agent who was killed in a crash at Montgomery Regional Airport on New Years Eve, according to the New York Post.
Airline worker dies after being sucked into plane engine, despite warnings not to stand so close
A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board released on Monday found that before his death, a co-worker noticed Edwards had been nearly knocked down by a jet exhaust, prompting him to warn him to keep his distance until until the motors are completely closed. low.
Another ground worker on the other side of the jet backed off after a pilot leaned out the window and told him the engines were still running.
We mourn the loss of Courtney Edwards, a ground handling agent at Montgomery Airport in Alabama, who was fatally injured in a work accident. Our thoughts are with Courtney’s family and our work brothers and sisters at @CWAUnion. https://t.co/p8xe7Xg1MV
– United Airports Workers (@GoodAirports) January 6, 2023
Moments prior, Edwards walked in front of one of the plane’s engines while wearing an orange safety cone before being “ripped off her feet and into the running engine,” according to the report.
A co-pilot said the “plane shook violently followed by immediate automatic shutdown” after Edwards was sucked into the plane’s engine.
The flight, which departed from Dallas with 59 passengers and four crew members on board, was operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines.
The NTSB had a safety meeting with the ground crew just 10 minutes before the flight arrived, the report says.
To make matters worse, an auxiliary power unit was not working, according to the safety board.
The pilots ultimately decided to leave both engines running for a two-minute cool-down period while waiting for the aircraft to be connected to ground power.
Meanwhile, the NTSB says a security meeting with ground crew members took place just 10 minutes before the flight arrived, which was followed by a second security “muster” just as the plane reached its gate “to reiterate that the engines would continue to run”.
The sweat agency added that no one should approach the plane until the engines have been shut down and after the pilots have turned off the beacon light.
An inquest into Edwards’ death is still ongoing.
During this time, a GoFundMe for the Family of Edwards has already raised $104,000 of a goal of $25,000.