Texas airport death ruled suicide – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
A ground worker died Friday night when he was sucked into the engine of a jet plane that had just landed at San Antonio International Airport, and the local doctor believes it was 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 aircraft or the airport.”
The NTSB is America’s chief accident investigator. The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates airlines and aviation safety, indicated it would investigate the matter.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner̵[ads1]7;s office said David Renner, 27, died of blunt force trauma and the manner of death was listed as suicide. The official declined to provide further information.
A Delta Air Lines flight that had flown from Los Angeles was on its way 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, security procedures and policies.” The spokesman 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 “saddened by the loss of life of an aviation family member in San Antonio.”
Both Delta and Unifi are based in Atlanta. Unifi describes itself as the largest provider of ground handling and aviation services in North America. It lists Delta, United, Alaska, Spirit and Frontier as its customers.
The company says it has 20,000 aviation workers handling baggage, cargo, catering, fuel and other jobs at 200 locations.
On December 31, an airport worker in Montgomery, Alabama, died after she was pulled into an engine. This month, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited American Airlines subsidiary Piedmont Airlines for allowing ground workers to come dangerously close to running jet engines, and proposed $15,625 in penalties. Piedmont disputes the civil penalty.
If you or someone you know needs help, please contact the National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988, or contact the crisis text line by texting “Home” to 741741, anytime.
