An airline worker died after being 'ingested into the engine' of a plane, NTSB says - At least it wasn't Southwest

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An airline ground crew worker in Alabama died after being "ingested into the engine" of a parked plane on Saturday, said the National Transportation Safety Board.

In a statement provided to NPR, the NTSB said it has opened an investigation into the death. The incident involved an Embraer 170 aircraft, a medium-range jet that can hold about 70 passengers, which had flown from Dallas Fort-Worth to the Montgomery Regional Airport.

The victim, whose name has yet to be released, was employed by Piedmont Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines that operates at more than 80 airports. Neither company responded to NPR's request for comment.

"We are saddened to hear about the tragic loss of a team member of the AA/Piedmont Airlines," said Wade A. Davis, the airport's executive director. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time."

The airport grounded all flights for five hours after the incident, which occurred around 3 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

People briefed on the matter told Reuters that the engine was running at the time of the incident. The NTSB confirmed the parking brake on the aircraft was also set.

More details on the death will be released in a preliminary report in two to three weeks, the NTSB said.

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The NSA said:
“Ingested into an engine”. What strange phrasing. Jet engines don’t eat, it sounds more violent and macabre than “sucked into an engine”. Liz Fong Jones must be writing press releases for airlines, that’s as bad as consent accident.
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It's actually the correct proper term thats been used since the start of the jet age. No Liz Fong Troons involved.

I hope there werent any passengeers in the plane.
 
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RodgerDodger said:
It's actually the correct proper term thats been used since the start of the jet age. No Liz Fong Troons involved.

I hope there werent any passengeers in the plane.
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They SAY they want you to close the little window blinds to keep the plane cool but they really want you to not have to see the engine feed.
 
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At least it was quick.

Most people have never thought about the power that is required to move a 50k pound plane and 50k pounds of fuel at takeoff. When those engines are going you can feel it. Airfields have a separate engine run up area that is made of concrete, to test engine operations. Because they will demolish asphalt if operational in one place for too long.
 
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@Otterly - read the link @God's drunkest driver posted: https://avherald.com/h?article=50320e92&opt=0 as there is interesting info and speculation in the comments.

For instance:
@Shocked
By El Burro on Wednesday, Jan 4th 2023 00:29Z

Aircraft pulled into gate with ramp safety envelope clear, crew sets the parking brake, and shuts down the right engine. This is how I do it every time I arrive with an APU on MEL. The left engine is left running until ground power is connected. I have actually had on several occasions ramp personnel approach the aircraft and open the fwd cargo door while the left engine is still running. I speculate that in this case the the ramp agent saw/heard the right engine spool down, disregarding the active flashing beacon, and approached the aircraft and opened the fwd cargo door. Not realizing that the left engine was still running moved to the opposite side to perhaps place a cone, hook up ground air, etc, and walked into the path of the running engine.

So very tragic.​
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Otterly said:
I’m curious as to how this happened - Are the engines running like that when the baggage handlers are working? I’m fairly clueless about airports in general but just from recollection the engines are off aren’t they until you start the whole ‘everyone’s out the way cabin crew doors to whatever’ shit? I do t ever recall seeing engine blades turning when getting on or off a plane, Horrific way to go and probably worse to be a witness to it or deal with the aftermath.
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I think (though I could be wrong, certainly not a plane expert) they usually have them going before you actually start moving, though probably the equivalent of a car in neutral; when you're hanging out in the terminal you can often see the heat distortion in the air behind the wings, and iirc the engines that power the plane are also the ones that run the plane's internal electricity most of the time.

I have no idea what level of throttle it has to be at to risk sucking in workers at range though.
 
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BoobWhiskers said:
I think (though I could be wrong, certainly not a plane expert) they usually have them going before you actually start moving
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Engines also act as the power plant for the Aircraft. So all the electrical will be run off one of the engines. Usually just in low power, but some places have an A/C cart that handles power while on the ground. The engines run most of the time, it's why airfields are so loud.

From what it sounds like, a baggage handler had come to access the right side cargo door, and the right engine was still running. From the linked article and comments it sounds like after taxiing the right engine is turned off, and the left is on for power to the Aircraft.
 
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Vargerd said:
I've worked at an airport for over 20 years around everything from small prop planes to various incarnations of the 747. my best guess would be aircraft mechanics needing to fire up the engines of the aircraft for a maintenance check. even then though, aircraft with engines starting or on are fucking hard to miss. there is a giant red beacon on the underside of the plane fairly centrally located that will be blinking pretty brightly and aircraft engines are damn loud when you're near them on the ground. barring the obvious sight and hearing issues you can just feel an active jet engine from a decent ways away. even when you're a ways off you can feel the air pressure isn't natural, even when standing off to the side.

Either this person was like warm temperature iq at best, wanted to end it spectacularly, or something really lucky happened.
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You meant "or something really unlucky happened" Right?
 
OutInTheRain said:
Engines also act as the power plant for the Aircraft. So all the electrical will be run off one of the engines. Usually just in low power, but some places have an A/C cart that handles power while on the ground. The engines run most of the time, it's why airfields are so loud.

From what it sounds like, a baggage handler had come to access the right side cargo door, and the right engine was still running. From the linked article and comments it sounds like after taxiing the right engine is turned off, and the left is on for power to the Aircraft.
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The main engines drive the alternators only when the plane is in motion or once the are idling. When stationary pretty much all planes larger than a crj 900 have an APU in the tail section that switches on while on the ground and main engines off.
 
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Long story short: it was a black woman who had repeatedly violated safety rules regarding walking in front of running jet engines.

A coworker saw her going in to an area literally called "the ingestion zone"

alabama-mother-sucked-plane-engine-fatal-05.jpeg

nypost.com

Alabama mom of 3 ‘violently’ sucked into plane engine was warned to stay back: NTSB

Courtney Edwards, 34, a mom-of-three working for Piedmont Airlines, was sucked into a jet engine at an Alabama airport after apparently ignoring repeated warnings to stay away from the back of the …
nypost.com nypost.com

An Alabama airport worker who was sucked into a plane engine was pulled in so violently that it shook the entire aircraft, killing her after she had been repeatedly warned to keep her distance, federal investigators found.

Mom of three Courtney Edwards, 34, has been identified as the ground handling agent who was killed in the accident at Montgomery Regional Airport on New Year’s Eve.

The report revealed that prior to her death, a co-worker saw Edwards nearly knocked over by the exhaust from a jet and tried to warn her to keep her distance until the engines were shut down.

Another ground worker on the other side of the Embraer E175 jet had backed away after a pilot leaned out the window and said the engines were still running.

But moments later, Edwards walked in front of one of the engines of the plane carrying an orange safety cone and was “pulled off her feet and into the operating engine,” according to the report.

A co-pilot reported that the “airplane shook violently followed by the immediate automatic shutdown.”

The flight from Dallas with 59 passengers and four crew members on board was operated by Envoy Air, an affiliate of American Airlines.

An auxiliary power unit used to power the plane without using the engines was not working, according to the safety board, and pilots decided to leave both engines running for a two-minute engine cool-down period while they waited for the plane to be connected to ground power.

The NTSB said the ground crew held a safety meeting 10 minutes before the flight’s arrival, followed by a second safety “huddle” held immediately before the Embraer jet reached the gate, “to reiterate that the engines would remain running” and the plane shouldn’t be approached until the engines were shut down and the pilots turned off the beacon light.

Throughout the incident, rotating beacons on the plane appeared to be illuminated, warning that engines were still running, investigators said.

Video surveillance showed Edwards walking along the edge of the plane’s left wing and in front of the first engine.

A co-worker yelled and waved Edwards off. She began to move away from the plane, but then he heard a “bang,” and the engine shut down, according to the preliminary report.
 
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Scene investigator arrives at the Edwards house:
"Kids, gather around. I'm afraid I have some bad news. Mom won't be coming home from work today. Actually...some of her came home. Sorry about the footprints on the carpet. I really should have changed shoes before coming to talk to you."
 
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No extensive NTSB investigation and ruling necessary, it was all on camera. We'll probably see the footage some day. This dipshit walked right in front of the running engine despite being briefed that the plane would continue to run its engines for some time after parking and the presence of the universal beacon which practically exists to clearly indicate "the engines are on or will be soon". Total disregard for common sense, let alone the rules of her job. Now her kids will be motherless, they're probably already fatherless. A tragedy, sure, but one born of hiring anyone with a pulse to fill an inherently dangerous role that requires a scrupulous person to do safely and well.
 
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Paul Pelosi's Boyfriend said:
Long story short: it was a black woman who had repeatedly violated safety rules regarding walking in front of running jet engines.

A coworker saw her going in to an area literally called "the ingestion zone"

View attachment 4333960

nypost.com

Alabama mom of 3 ‘violently’ sucked into plane engine was warned to stay back: NTSB

Courtney Edwards, 34, a mom-of-three working for Piedmont Airlines, was sucked into a jet engine at an Alabama airport after apparently ignoring repeated warnings to stay away from the back of the …
nypost.com nypost.com

An Alabama airport worker who was sucked into a plane engine was pulled in so violently that it shook the entire aircraft, killing her after she had been repeatedly warned to keep her distance, federal investigators found.

Mom of three Courtney Edwards, 34, has been identified as the ground handling agent who was killed in the accident at Montgomery Regional Airport on New Year’s Eve.

The report revealed that prior to her death, a co-worker saw Edwards nearly knocked over by the exhaust from a jet and tried to warn her to keep her distance until the engines were shut down.

Another ground worker on the other side of the Embraer E175 jet had backed away after a pilot leaned out the window and said the engines were still running.

But moments later, Edwards walked in front of one of the engines of the plane carrying an orange safety cone and was “pulled off her feet and into the operating engine,” according to the report.

A co-pilot reported that the “airplane shook violently followed by the immediate automatic shutdown.”

The flight from Dallas with 59 passengers and four crew members on board was operated by Envoy Air, an affiliate of American Airlines.

An auxiliary power unit used to power the plane without using the engines was not working, according to the safety board, and pilots decided to leave both engines running for a two-minute engine cool-down period while they waited for the plane to be connected to ground power.

The NTSB said the ground crew held a safety meeting 10 minutes before the flight’s arrival, followed by a second safety “huddle” held immediately before the Embraer jet reached the gate, “to reiterate that the engines would remain running” and the plane shouldn’t be approached until the engines were shut down and the pilots turned off the beacon light.

Throughout the incident, rotating beacons on the plane appeared to be illuminated, warning that engines were still running, investigators said.

Video surveillance showed Edwards walking along the edge of the plane’s left wing and in front of the first engine.

A co-worker yelled and waved Edwards off. She began to move away from the plane, but then he heard a “bang,” and the engine shut down, according to the preliminary report.
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One less nigger bitch. Thanks based plane engine. Blessed is the machine, praise the Omnissiah.
 
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