Airport worker will get sucked into engine and warned to remain again

On Alabama Airport work and mother of three was sucked into a plane engine resulting in a collision so violent that the entire plane shook, killing her after being repeatedly warned to stay away from the plane engines.

Courtney Edwards34, of Alabama, has since been identified as the groundhandling agent who was killed in an accident at Montgomery Regional Airport on New Year’s Eve, according to the New York Post.

Airline worker dies after being sucked into plane engine despite warnings not to stand too close

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board released Monday found that before her death, a colleague had noticed that Edwards had nearly been knocked over by a jet’s exhaust, prompting him to warn her to keep her distance until the engines were fully charged turned off were down.

Another ground worker on the other side of the jet backed away after a pilot leaned out the window and told him the engines were still running.

We mourn the loss of Courtney Edwards, a ground handler at Montgomery Airport, Alabama, who died in an accident at work. Our hearts go out to Courtney’s family and our working siblings at @CWAUnion. https://t.co/p8xe7Xg1MV

— Airport Workers United (@GoodAirports) January 6, 2023

Just moments earlier, Edwards walked in front of one of the plane’s engines while wearing an orange safety cone before being “pulled off her feet and into the running engine,” according to the report.

A co-pilot said the “plane shook violently followed by the immediate automatic shutdown” after Edwards was sucked into the plane’s engine.

The flight, which departed from Dallas with 59 passengers and four crew members aboard, was operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines.

According to the report, the NTSB had a safety meeting with the ground crew just 10 minutes before the flight’s arrival

To make matters worse, according to the safety authorities, an auxiliary unit was not working.

The pilots eventually decided to run both engines for a two-minute cool-down while waiting for the aircraft to be connected to ground power.

Pictured: Courtney Edwards and family (courtesy of GoFundMe)

Meanwhile, the NTSB claims that just 10 minutes before the flight arrived, a safety meeting was held with members of the ground crew, followed by a second safety “huddle” just as the jet reached its gate, “to reiterate that the… engines would keep running”.

The Perspiration Authority added that no one should approach the plane until the engines have shut down and the pilots have turned off the beacon.

An inquest into Edwards’ death is ongoing.

In the meantime a GoFundMe as the Edwards family has already raised $104,000 from a goal of $25,000.