Two killed after jet tyre explodes during Boeing plane maintenance
Atlanta: Two workers were killed and another seriously injured in an explosion on Tuesday at a Delta Air Lines maintenance facility near the Atlanta airport.
Delta said it was working with local authorities to investigate what happened at the wheel and brake shop.
Multiple Atlanta Fire Rescue Department units and police park outside a Delta Maintenance facility near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.Credit: AP
The three staff members had been working on a Boeing 757 that arrived from Las Vegas on Sunday night, according to flight records, The Guardian and the London Telegraph reported.
WSB-TV reported that a tyre on a plane exploded. The television station cited unnamed sources.
Several Atlanta fire units and police responded to the maintenance hangar near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport shortly after 5am, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Flights into and out of the airport were not affected.
Multiple Atlanta Fire Rescue Department units and police park outside a Delta Maintenance facility near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.Credit: AP
“The Delta family is heartbroken at the loss of two team members and the injury of another following an incident this morning at the Atlanta Technical Operations Maintenance facility,” Delta said in a statement. “We have extended our full support to family members and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.”
Delta thanked first responders and medical teams, and said the cause of the accident has not been released.
“We are now working with local authorities and conducting a full investigation to determine what happened,” the Atlanta-based airline said.
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration told Reuters it was opening an investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was in contact with Delta about the incident.
The facility where the explosion happened is part of Delta TechOps, which performs maintenance, repair and overhaul work for Delta and more than 150 aviation and airline customers around the world.
The president of TechOps, Delta Executive Vice President John Laughter, said in a note to staff that the airline will make counsellors available to employees.
“We’re all in this together, and we’ll get through this by supporting each other,” he said.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens posted on X to offer his condolences to relatives of the victims.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which is trying to organise 20,000 ground workers at largely nonunion Delta, called on the airline and authorities “to quickly launch a thorough investigation into how this happened”.
AP, Reuters
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