Baggage Handler Dies After Being Sucked Into Airplane Engine at Alabama Airport

A baggage handler was killed at Alabama’s Montgomery Regional Airport Saturday, after the airport employee was sucked into the engine of an American Airlines subsidized plane, airport authorities confirmed.  

While the employee’s name has not been released to the public, the airport temporarily suspended activity on New Year’s Eve in the wake of the tragedy, according to reports.

The victim was an employee of Piedmont Airlines, which is a subsidiary of American Airlines, and was killed after he was sucked into the engine of an aircraft as the plane was scheduled to depart for Dallas, Texas, later Saturday afternoon, according to MSN.

"Today around 3 pm an American Airlines ground crew Piedmont employee was involved in a fatality, no additional information is available at this time," the airport tweeted. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased."

The airport later resumed normal operations Saturday night after temporarily halting outbound and inbound flights for several hours, WFSA reported.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident, according to Reuters.

Related Stories