Posted on 05/08/2026 2:24:18 PM PDT by DFG
An investigation is ongoing after a Delta Air Lines worker died Thursday night at Orlando International Airport.
12:45 p.m. update:
The FAA has released more information after a Delta worker died while on the job at the Orlando International Airport.
An FAA spokesperson confirmed with Channel 9 that the Delta worker died after an aircraft towing vehicle, known as a “tug,” struck a passenger boarding bridge.
The incident happened around 10:55 p.m. on Thursday.
The FAA said no aircraft were involved in the incident, but passengers aboard Delta Air Lines Flight 2593 deplaned via the rear door and airstairs afterward.
Channel 9 has a crew working to gather more details and will provide updates on Eyewitness News.
Original report:
A Delta Air Lines team member died while on the job at Orlando International Airport on Thursday.
A Delta spokesperson said the airline is working with local authorities as a full investigation into the incident gets underway.
The airline stated it is heartbroken by the loss and is focused on extending full support to the team member’s family and its Orlando team.
“The Delta family is heartbroken at the loss of a team member while on the job at Orlando International Airport on the evening of May 7,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement. “We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time. We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”
Operations at the Delta Orlando station were paused on Thursday evening while work with investigators ensued.
This resulted in the cancellation of one flight departure that evening.
Customers affected by the cancellation were accommodated on other flights and Delta offered apologies for the delay in their travels.
A spokesperson for Orlando International Airport released the following statement to Channel 9:
“The MCO community is deeply saddened about the loss of a team member from one of our airline partners, a member of our extended airport family. We send our condolences to his family and friends.”
The Orlando Police Department released this statement and confirmed it is investigating the worker’s death.
“At this time, the Orlando Police Department is conducting a death investigation. Preliminary information suggests the incident was accidental in nature. The investigation is taking place within the airside terminal and is having minimal impact on airport operations.
To preserve the integrity of the investigation and out of respect for those involved, no additional details are being released at this time."
Horribly written. Pointless post.
“Delta worker dies after aircraft towing vehicle hits passenger bridge in Orlando”. Some Delta workers didn’t have a good day.
WTH is “an aircraft towing vehicle, known as a “tug,”?
Paint all passenger bridges neon green or orange!! That will stop the accidents from happening just like they have the trades dressed as neon monkeys!!
Exactly what it says. Also known as a jet tug.
I don’t know about recent, but when I was a teen I knew people who worked the ramp for both airlines and the airport.
Drug tests were not given.
Based upon what I knew of said ‘people’ they should have been given and should be mandatory today.
My understanding is that if they tested ramp workers for drugs, they'd have no ramp workers.
This guy might have been a foreigner who never drove a vehicle in his home country but now drives around airplanes.
... flipped the tug and got crushed by it.
There's a lot of ballast in those tow tractors. It would take a significant event to flip one.
Saying nothing and repeating the nothing multiple times doesn’t really convey any information, Mr. Tutten.
Was the dead guy the tug driver? The jetway driver? Someone from the ground crew that was standing between the tug and the jetway? Which movable object ran into which movable object? Was the collision with the wheels, a fixed support, or the structure itself that was lower than usual (those tugs are usually fairly low slung).
If it was an aircraft tug. The article is poorly written but I suspect it was a baggage cart tug, not an aircraft tug, because ramp workers flip baggage cart tugs surprisingly frequently.
Aircraft tug drivers, when they crash (and they do), usually crash into the aircraft itself, not the bridge or other vehicles.
Poor guy. Lot’s of distractions and loud noise on the ramp. Throw in some humidity and heat... and it’s worse.
Why so many of these incidents lately and nearmisses......is it dei ?
The WSB-TV News here in Atlanta isn’t much clearer, but my expectation is that the tug hit the jetway and caused an employee to fall from there, either through the opening that connects to the airplane or from the external stairway that allows employees access to the ground from the jetway.
Drive under the overhanging aircraft ramp. Decapitated or crushed perhaps?
Tragic slow-speed accident.
Possibly but "a report from the Ninth Circuit Medical Examiner’s Office determined Friday that the ...man who worked for the airline died of multiple blunt impact injuries".
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/orlando-international-airport-staff-member-dies-officials-say/ar-AA22GL8O
Multiple blunt impact injuries (versus falling) could be from a rollover.
Drivers roll them more frequently than outsiders would expect. A physically fit driver might jump clear but a crushed leg and pelvis was common.
The headline makes it sound like he was in a vehicle being towed by a plane and hit a bridge (Wi Tu Lo).
Like in tug boat.
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