American Airlines ramp worker fatally injured after incident with ground vehicle

An American Airlines employee has sustained fatal injuries after an incident on the apron at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT) in North Carolina. According to reports, the incident occurred on the morning of January 27, 2025, at around 09:38 when the worker was allegedly struck by a vehicle while working airside at the airport.

While the full circumstances of the incident which led to the loss of the life of the ramp worker have not yet been disclosed by either the airline or the airport authorities, it is understood that just a single vehicle was involved and that no one else was injured due to the collision. A photo from the scene shows numerous airport emergency vehicles surrounding a group of baggage carts at the scene close to Concourse B at the airport.  

According to abc News, emergency and medical crews responded immediately and attended the incident scene. However, the employee, who has not yet been named, was found to have sustained fatal injuries and could not be saved. The airport said it is working closely with airline partners and first responders to fully investigate the situation, which will also involve representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Our deepest condolences go out to the employee’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time,” said airport officials via an official statement. “The Airport is working closely with airline and first responder partners in the ongoing investigation and is providing support as needed. Airport chaplains are available onsite.”

In a tragic development, an airport ground handling employee was killed in a crash involving an airline ramp vehicle at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Monday morning.”Our deepest condolences go out to the employee’s family, friends and colleagues during this difficult… pic.twitter.com/hmp4LRyADQ— FL360aero (@fl360aero) January 27, 2025 According to a report published by the local news outlet WCCB Charlotte, a North Carolina resident, Kevin Ullman, witnessed the whole incident unfold from his seat on an airplane parked close to the incident. Ullman was quoted as saying that the ground vehicle involved, understood to be a luggage cart, was reversing at the time and that the victim may have been in a blind spot for the driver of that vehicle as it did so.

“I think the gentleman that got ran over, thought he was going to pull forward but was in that blind spot. So, he just started walking and the driver didn’t see him, and he just started backing up,” said Ullman.

Ullman said even though the cart was moving relatively slowly, the whole incident in which the ramp employee was struck by the luggage cart unfolded very quickly “He just hit him, and those tires are so close to the back end. It just happened. It was slow, but it happened fast.”

Nate Hovee / ShutterstockIn an official statement issued by American Airlines, the carrier confirmed that the person who had been fatally injured was one of their employees. “We are devastated by the accident involving a team member at Charlotte International Airport (CLT),”  the statement read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and our local team members. We are focused on ensuring that all involved have the support they need during this difficult time.”

According to the FAA, while some flights departing from the airport were impacted by some weather-related delays, there were no substantial flight delays caused by the ground incident itself.

While the frequency of airport ground incidents has increased in line with the rise in airline traffic, the deaths of ground workers at airports remain relatively uncommon. In August 2024, two Delta Airlines engineers were killed after a tire that they were changing on an airplane exploded. In June 2023, another Delta Air Lines employee died after being ingested into the engine of a company A319 that had just arrived in San Antonio. In 2019 also at Charlotte Airport, an American Airlines employee died while working at the airport when the tug he was driving hit luggage on the tarmac and overturned.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, five deaths of airport employees were recorded in 2023 and three in 2022.

RELATED

San Antonio Airport worker dies after being ingested into plane engine

The post American Airlines ramp worker fatally injured after incident with ground vehicle appeared first on AeroTime.

Go to Source