SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) — A ground worker died Friday night when he was sucked into an engine of a jet that had just landed at San Antonio International Airport, and the local medical examiner is ruling it a suicide.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday it will not open an investigation. The accident investigator said that based on information provided by the medical examiner, “there were no operational safety issues with either the airplane or the airport.”
The NTSB is the chief U.S. accident investigator. The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates airlines and aviation safety, indicated that it would investigate.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office said David Renner, 27, died of blunt and sharp-force injuries, and the manner of death was listed as suicide. The official declined to provide further information.
A Delta Air Lines plane that had flown from Los Angeles was pulling up to the terminal when the incident occurred, according to the FAA.
Delta said the ground worker was employed by Unifi Aviation, which Delta hires for ground services at the San Antonio airport.
A Unifi spokesperson said, “From our initial investigation, this incident was unrelated to Unifi’s operational processes, safety procedures and policies.” The spokesperson said the company was “deeply saddened by the loss of our employee at San Antonio International Airport during a tragic incident,” and would not comment further.
In a statement, Delta said it was “grieving the loss of an aviation family member’s life in San Antonio.”
Both Delta and Unifi are based in Atlanta. Unifi describes itself as the largest ground-handling and aviation-services provider in North America. It lists Delta, United, Alaska, Spirit and Frontier as its customers.
The company says it has 20,000 aviation workers who handle baggage, cargo, catering, fueling and other jobs at 200 locations.
On Dec. 31, an airport worker in Montgomery, Alabama, died after she was pulled into an engine. This month, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited American Airlines subsidiary Piedmont Airlines for letting ground workers get dangerously close to running jet engines, and proposed $15,625 in penalties. Piedmont is contesting the civil penalty.
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