Airport Worker Who Was Sucked Into Engine Was ‘Warned’ to Stay Away, Probe Finds
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A federal investigation into the death of an airport worker who was killed after being sucked into a jet engine found that she had been warned several times not to go near the still-running engine, according to a preliminary report. The findings about the New Year’s Eve death of Courtney Edwards, 34, at the Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama were released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Monday. The initial report said that after the jet landed, the pilots decided to leave the engines running for a two-minute cool-down period. Ground staff were reportedly told the engines were still running and airport workers were told in two safety briefings not to approach them, and the plane also had rotating beacons illuminated to indicate the danger. The report says that one ramp agent “observed [Ms Edwards] as she began to move away from the airplane before he turned to lower the cord for the ground power. Shortly thereafter he heard a ‘bang’ and the engine shut down.”