Posted on 01/26/2023 7:58:53 AM PST by montag813
by Jim Clayborn
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report regarding the death of an airport worker at the Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama on New Year’s Eve.
The report indicated that Courtney Edwards, 34, a ramp agent for American Airlines subsidiary, Piedmont Airlines, was killed after she was sucked into a plane engine despite being warned not to get close to the engine.
At around 2:40 p.m., American Eagle flight ENY3408 from Dallas-Fort Worth arrived at the gate following an “uneventful flight,” according to the NTSB report via Alabama News Network. After stopping the plane, the crew let both engines keep running for the required two-minute engine cool-down period as they waited for the plane to be connected to the power in the ground.
The crew did this since they were operating with a broken auxiliary power unit.
As crew members were shutting down the engines, they got an alert that the cargo door was open. The first officer opened his window from the cockpit to let the ramp agents know that the engines were still running, while the captain announced for passengers to remain in their seats.
The first officer then reported he “saw a warning light illuminate and the airplane shook violently followed by the immediate automatic shutdown of the number 1 engine,” according to the report. “Unsure of what had occurred, he extinguished the emergency lights and shut off both batteries before leaving the flight deck to investigate.”
(Excerpt) Read more at rightnewsnow.org ...
I was a CVN nuke back in the day. On the flight deck 3 times total unless I was boarding or exiting an aircraft. That place scared the crap out of me.
""WHAT??!!"
FOOMP!!
"GET AWAY FROM THE ENGINE!!!""DON' YOU GO TELLIN' ME WHAT TA DO, CRAKA! I'M..."
FOOMP!!
probably should’ve used ebonics in the warning...
Are aptitude exams given for those jobs ? Either she was suicidal or not bright/ responsible enough to be working there.
I bet the lawyers are circling her family like vultures right now, some very deep pockets sitting there waiting to be lightened by them for 1/3 + expenses...
Poor passengers that had to see that.
There are lots of good comments at the YouTube site you linked about the pressures put on ground crews.
@markkramer8878
I'm a legacy airline Captain and have seen this more than once at my own airline. I recently challenged a ground crew as to why they did it. The response "We're told to do that to get the crew's pay clock to stop". I couldn't believe my ears. With "any" door open and parking brake set it stops the pay clock, shows the in time and ends the "block time" on the aircraft. My airline would deny it, but that's straight from the person that did it. I'll bet you it's no different at Piedmont, no matter what the report says. Follow the money and know that the FAA on-time statistics is a factor as well.@576103
Twice last year, I pulled into the gate with engines running and wasn’t able to shut down right away and rampers immediately swarmed the airplane, popped the cargo door etc in clear violation of all safety protocols. In both cases after we shut down I ran outside to put my foot in somebody’s ass. In both cases, the rampers were utterly dismissive of my concerns, and treated me as if I was a fool for being concerned. They could barely conceal their contempt as they explained that there was absolutely no danger, and they knew this because they do it all the time. I elevated my concerns to their management and as far as I know, nothing was done. Hopefully this incident changes a few minds…@greg6229
I've worked on the Ramp in Australia for nearly 2 decades. I'm a leading hand, supervisor and trainer covering all aspects of ground handling for narrow body aircraft including the E170 aircraft and some wide body aircraft. There's a heavy focus on safety before schedule with what we do here. Having said that following covid there is a massive push from airlines to save money and one of the biggest areas has been in handling costs when contracting 3rd party ground handlers which is the case for me. We are turning aircraft with less staff while being expected to provide the same level of service as we did before covid. While we constantly hear about safety first there is definitely time pressure being placed on independent handlers from airlines while expecting everything to be perfect from a safety aspect.
Yep,
The ground crew was warned to not approach the aircraft until the engines were spooled down for 60-90 seconds and the rotating beacon was off. They waited for neither.
Sad, but true.
"Around."
It's like a high-speed blender.
and it could have just been a momentary lapse of judgement....
anyway....rest in peace and may the family have peace as well....
sad story....
After all the warnings my inclination is she was leaving a law suit for her family. Or at least she thought she was.
No matter, American will settle if they can and in the right or not will have to pay her estate. They simply can’t risk jury trial of a poor black woman in Alabama by a jury of her “peers”. Some pettifogging lawyer will still get well on the settlement.
It may sound cruel to think this but I would not put it pas her or a lot of others.
The working poor are more desperate than the destitute. Our system is effed in that somehow a dollar or two either way can provide full benefits or no benefits. Our system is not intended to help those who are doing their best to help themselves and to get them back on their feet. It is designed for dependency for the duration.
Juan didn’t broach the subject, but I wonder if impairment was an issue..
Sucks to be him
It's a jet engine. It's fairly obvious when it's running, just from the noise. That she was KNOCKED DOWN by the exhaust should have been a further clue.
“Stupidity cannot be cured. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death. There is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.” ― Robert Heinlein
Good point about impairment. There must be a lot of that on the ramp.
Yes, the but the NTSB report is not going to help their case...
I’m wondering if it was intentional suicide?
Another issue might vax status. If the airline lost ramp workers in the past because of mandates, there might be unqualified or inexperienced workers on the ramp.
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