>

Lots of y’all are going to hell.  I just don’t understand how this happens in the modern age when we realize it’s a possibility and have safety precautions.  This poor man’s family must be devastated.
Apparently it happened on arrival from what I read elsewhere. The standard is to have bags start to be scanned 2 minutes after arrival. So ground crew is rushed to get the baggage doors open.
Also this aircraft had an inoperable APU (auxiliary power unit). Aircraft have essentially 3 power sources: the engines, the terminal when on the ground, and the APU. It takes time to hook up to ground power, and normally they cut the engines and use the APU while waiting to be hooked up to the terminal for power. But for this aircraft, they had to keep the engines going. Sometimes the pilots can shut if one engine, but apparently did not here. 
Likely in the rush to get to the baggage door, they didn’t take note of the engine and approached too soon. Also, the airport mostly sees smaller jets with tail mounted engines. The Embraer 175 was one of the few wing mounted engines they would see, which are far more dangerous to people on the ground. >

I worked ramp crew for 6 years, I still remember in human factor training they showed us aftermath videos of people being ingested by turbines or chopped to pieces from propellers. You NEVER approach the plane until you hear the engines spool down and see the fan blades slow down specifically to prevent ingestion & beacon lights turn off when they are working. Even at near idle the top half of your body will disappear before you knew what happened. If you worked running bags on tugs or you worked certain types of planes like CRJ's, its easy to forget. 
Ramp is a fucking dangerous place if you don't have situational awareness or don't pay attention. I've personally known half a dozen people that died out there and far more injured. Not to mention the shoulder/back injuries and hearing loss Baggage Handlers inevitably get. I fractured my wrist and knee myself and i got off light. We just had a girl nearly killed after being hit by a lav truck here in Atlanta. >

Had to Google that to see what you were talking about. I work for FedEx Express which is the cargo aircraft part of FedEx. The guys on the ramp get a vest, gloves, and some earplugs. We share a terminal with United and it's basically the same equipment for them too. >

You would be amazed. I work in Memphis which is Fedex's largest hub...the amount of people walking up to engines before they are spooled down and driving tugs behind them while the engines are running is a common occurrence. Quite a lot of people who don't know what the hell is going on and not paying attention out there.
Literally the largest thing to kill you out there. >

Sounds like there's been a massive failure in safety training and enforcement there. >

Enforcement is the important part. Safety training could be incredibly good, after a few months or years the lull of working WILL have people doing their job in a dangerously careless way. It‘s just how humans work. 
Thats why safety coordinators are a thing at any competent workplace involving dangerous situations. Unless it is someones job to keep an eye on these things, slip ups will always happen. And even with a safety coordinator it‘s still possible. >

Training is pointless if the daily work is inconsistent with training. >

For sure, I just think that bad training can be fixed if the actual safety practices during work are good. If it‘s the other way around even good training isn‘t much of a help. >

I saw a set of pictures once of a guy who was swallowed by a plane's engine. I think it was a military base. It goes without saying (I'll say it anyways) that it's likely a quick death, although that doesn't really add any comfort when it comes to someone that shouldn't be dead in the first place. Fucking tragic. >

When I worked on a flightline they showed us some videos of stuff like this to scare us into following the rules (it worked). I remember one video of a guy who got ingested and lived! He was wearing a helmet which broke the blades. >

God damn man just got yoinked instantaneously >

Saw a video just the other day where something similar happened. This guy also survived without getting hurt
He probably gives his co-worker back rubs every day after that one lol >

This is the most ridiculously bad workplace safety I've ever seen. Basically an accident waiting to happen. >

Normal day in Chinese and Indian factories. If you go on watchpeopledie (now it's a separate site ever since the reddit ban) most industrial accidents happen in China, India or Russia. >

Meanwhile American libertarians: “We HaVe ToO mAnY ReGuLaTiOnS”
Ok, guy-who-didn’t-lose-any-limbs-at-work-today; keep whining… >

That's gotta be deeply traumatizing for anyone working with this person as well. One moment you're chatting with your colleague about who knows what, preparing to do another flight prep and next thing you know you see them getting sucked into a jet engine and getting unrecognizably torn apart. Whoever was involved is never setting another foot on an airport again. >

There was this serbian woman that fell out of a plane and survived and still wanted to continue working as a flight attendand so I‘m not sure >

She did, but she claimed she had absolutely no memory of the event which, if true, would explain why she wasn't scared of going back up there. >

Here in my country something different happened. the LAPA accident took the lives of dozens of people, some FAs. One of the surviving FAs continued working as an FA after the accident, and when asked about it, she justified her decision by saying "air accidents are statistically incredibly rare. I have survived one. What are the odds of me being in another?" >

God: "Hold my beer." >

If you want a true "Hold my beer" story relating to aeronautical accidents from Argentina, I recommend researching "El Mufa" (the unlucky), a 737 flown by Aerolíneas Argentinas. The plane was registered as LV-JNE >

Do you have a rough idea of the date? That airframe number seems to have been involved in a few incidents from what I can see. None of which are on Wiki, strangely. >

Its Early to mid 70's that we're talking about. I think flight 706 to Formosa might have some info in English. JNE went through a lot, but this might be the biggest one. There's a good chance all the incidents it went through aren't in English though.
If I recall them all, it got hijacked twice and had two cabin fires. It was destroyed in a third fire, but I'm not too sure of that one >

A friend of mine there when this happened, he was supposed to get on the plane to get home. The airline staff moved people to a couple of different locations in the terminal but the waiting passengers could still see the aircraft, smoke, and emergency vehicles. Eventually they made everyone exit the concourse and go through security again, and by the time they got through security the airline staff had taped paper over the windows. >

That's... Just... Undescribable. I hope they didn't know what happened and didn't see much. I feel so bad for the workers who had to deal with this and obviously the worker who lost their life. At least it was probably an instant and painless death. >

Co worker they knew likely. Hope they get paid leave. No one should work after seeing that happen to a co worker >

It's Alabama. They won't. >

More of a company thing than state >

These the same airlines lobbying for a single pilot in the cockpit to save costs? Those are who you think will do the right thing? >

I hope there wasn’t anyone looking out the window when it happened. Imagine witnessing that, I know it would fuck me up. >

Probably made a lot of noise, you could probably feel it too. >

There is always a smell >

I'm disinclined to ask how you know that. >

Can't even imagine dealing with the aftermath. Do you gather as much body parts as possible for burial? How do you even clean up after? Just hose it down as much as you can or comb through the whole area to pick up everything possible? What happens to the engine? Does it get rebuilt or just get scrapped? Disassembling that wouldn't be fun either. >

Shovel up the solids and hose off whatever's left. Sounds disrespectful to the deceased but honestly that's how big commercial/industrial messes are usually handled. >

In the 9/11 cleanup effort they had “bucket brigades” to remove bodies which is what it sounds like. 
At some point they just gave up trying to find all the bits and filled in the hole where some victims are now permanently interred. >

That’s not what the comment you’re replying tm said. It said they aren’t trying to find more remains. Not that they weren’t trying to identify them. >

There are probably a few people who need counseling after that... >

That is definitely a word that I didn't want to read in that sentence >

Alabama?  Horrifying. >

Christ what a nightmare.. I remember the video of a carrier sailor being sucked into a jet, but his helmet came off and jammed the turbine, saving his life. 
My dad, a career pilot, told me the story of another who was almost sucked in but didn’t go in (fit in?) and was just stuck until they were able to power down. Imagine the terror. 
The year or so before he retired his airline had a night crew cleaning lady die when the maintenance crew were testing engines on the same plane she was cleaning.. they were spinning the props flat and she was struck in the head. Easy to miss and accidentally walk into when it’s dark.
All terrible stories.. feels bad. >

How close do you have to be to a turbine to get sucked into it? >

About 14 feet in radius around the front. As soon as you're past the front plane of the turbine, it's dramatically safer. >

I imagine this depends on the size/power of the engine as well. One would assume an E175 engine has a much closer minimum distance than an engine on a B777 or a C-5 Galaxy. Correct? >

Actually overhead engine are far safer than ground level C-5 isn't as dangerous as others due to the need to get sucked up and out instead of straight through >

I regret opening this thread >

Wow. “Ingested” sounds not pleasant. 
Also:  Would they need an entirely new engine or just a little cleaning up here and there? >

An engine ingesting something the size of a person is going to need replaced for sure. >

Almost certainly a writeoff. Bone, metal and other junk severely damages the internal compressor blades of the engine as they pass through. The corresponding damage, even if fixed reduces the airflow, fuel mix and efficiency of the engine permanently. >

There could even be some structural damage to the wing/mounting points. Depending on what broke and how long the engine ran before it was shut down. >

ICD 10 code V97.33 - Sucked Into Jet Engine
Guess there’s a use for this ICD code after all >

There's even:
ICD 10 code V97.33XD - Sucked Into Jet Engine, Subsequent Encounter >

Yeah. But not sure if anyone sucked into a jet engine will have a subsequent encounter >

There is video of a navy guy on an aircraft carrier that gets sucked through an engine. I think he survived with only minor injuries. >

He did, but barely, his helmet got sucked off his head and hit the blades first. The subsequent damage caused the pilot to shut it down. He lost hearing in both ears from the ruptured eardrums due to the noise. He then crawled out. >

I just found out from a deaf Navy buddy that jet engines are the third loudest noise on the planet. Only dwarfed by volcanos as the second and nuclear explosions as the first. Can you guess why that friend is deaf? (Jet engines and aircraft carriers) >

I live in Okinawa and the new F-22s the USAF has been flying over my house have been unbearable.  The route I have to drive my son to school takes us right by the base and if we're unlucky enough to be driving by when one of those planes takes off, the noise is actually really painful. >

Holy shit dude that sucks. Keep some hearing protection in your car for that boy! It's like significant hearing damage I'd imagine that's pretty painful like you describe. My closet comparison are airbag deployments and those plus the subsequent TBI gave me tinnitus, which is so annoying if you don't have any experience with it.
That's so frustrating that you have to live with that, it sounds really stressful. >

Won't be released for a while officially, but the person involved was a female and mother of three.  Just something to add as I see tons of commenters stereotyping and thinking it was a male. >

Yes I just heard this. This is a horrible way to die. >

In terms of actually dying, it was probably a quarter second of oh shit then lights out. There are far more horrible ways to die than getting sucked into a jet engine. No pain, no struggle, no emotions. Just instant death. >

Okay, thanks for the existential dread. Time to go hug my fiance. >

Everyone keeps saying inexperienced worker. To me, this sounds more like someone who has been doing it for years and is just on autopilot mode. Didn’t even notice the engine running. Complacency is one of the biggest factors in workplace accidents >

Could go either way... Apparently time pressure is also a huge factor as ramp agents are pressured by management to get planes turned around quickly. >

My fiancée is an aviation mechanic and this is my biggest fear when he's at work 😣 >

Does... Does he work at Montgomery?
Seriously though airports everywhere are going to take more care now and put even more safety into approaching aircraft. So really there is less to be worried about. >

Apparently that's the official term for this sort of accident? Jesus.
How do I make sure I never fly on that plane? >

Avoid jets. “Ingest” is standard terminology when something gets sucked in the intake. >

What is it called when something gets blown out of the outtake? >

Outgested, clearly. >

Exgested maybe? Expelled more likely. I'm trying not to be a bad person =\ >

Expelled would be a good word for it! But its an engine and the term would be exhaust, I believe. >

"Exhausted man exhausted from engine exhaust" >

Quiz: Name a word you don't want to hear is related to an accident. 
Answer: "ingested". >

See also “liquified” >

“degloved” is still bottom of my list >

Wood chipper accidents have been referred to as "full body fragmentation." >

My wife worked in the ER. Drunken gardener decided to fix stuck rototiller by kicking debris loose. He got the rototiller working, but it pulled his foot in. 😳 >

Ahh ER stories at the dinner table , so many memories. “Another guy “fell” off a ladder naked ended up with a bottle up his butt” >

You wouldn't believe how many people slip in the shower and end up falling right on the shampoo bottle or on a baby food jar. >


baby food jar

What the tap dancing fuck. >

A friend was an ER nurse and someone came in claiming they "fell on" one. >

I worked in an ER and if someone came in saying “I just want to talk to a dr” and they wouldn’t make eye contact, we knew it was going to be “butt stuff.” >

I think it speaks volumes when some are cracking jokes and simply marveling at this freakish tragedy.
Condolences to her family and colleagues. No one deserves a gruesome death like that, and I can only imagine the horrors her colleagues witnessed >


it was parked at the gate with the parking brake set

Is it common to run the engines when it's still parked like that? >

Not usually, but from other comments, it looks like there was a problem with the planes APU, meaning they had to run the engines to maintain power on the plane until they were connected to the terminal.
The ground crew arrived to start removing baggage before that could happen. >

That sounds like a major failure to follow protocol. Either somebody didn’t communicate the situation with the engines or what did get communicated was not relayed in time or perhaps misunderstood. 
Considering how violently fatal the danger is, feels like there should be more visual signs (flashing lights like a red siren 🚨) nearby alerting the ground crew to stay away from the engines. >


(flashing lights like a red siren 🚨)

This concept has already existed for decades.
They're called beacon lights. They flash red, one on the underside of the fuselage and one on the bottom. They are a universal warning sign to remain clear from the aircraft because an engine(s) is either running or is about to be started. 
We don't turn the beacon off after arrival on stand until the engine has reduced below a certain power output setting after being shut down. It takes time to wind down, we don't turn the beacon off until it has. >

So the person must have ignored the light? >

Looks like it >

Ntsb is the one that used the term 'ingested"
That likely means the statute and regs use that term >

Worked on the ramp and putting schoks down and cpu in when the plane stopped, Long time ago. We had a worker signaling and directing the plan to its stop. One problem tho, he pulled the plane past the acu stopline .. Far past it.. So i had to run away from the engine.. if i waited a scond later, i would be sucked in. I exploded in anger,  that dude almost killed me. >

For everyone making note of it, “ingested” is the correct industry term, and most aircraft have “ingestion hazard” zone placards on, or in front of, the engines. >

Horrific. It shouldn't happen >

I've been to the shitty four terminal Airport in Montgomery many times, and this was likely witnessed by everyone. It's a tiny airport. Horrible >

That's horrifying OMG >

My brother saw this once, at McGuire AF base. Such a terrible thing. So sad. >

I uh, I wish I could unread this headline. RIP >

I know they put “ingested” and meant it to sound better than “sucked into jet engine” but ingested is so much worse IMO >

Good Lord, that is awful. It reminds me of the Star Lasso Experience, if you know what I mean. >

“Bare with us now, trained animals can be unpredictable! “ nervous laugh >

At least it's a quick way to go. >

Right? They say they died 'after' being ingested but I'm guessing it was during >

I saw this on the Birmingham local news this nothing but they gave no detail at all. How horrible. >

Damn, hopefully it was fast, you'd expect it to be but after seeing that one lucky bastard crawl out of one I can't help but wonder. >

So this would be under FAA jurisdiction and not OSHA, right? >

I work at an airport as ground crew and arrivals are terrifying bc the suction zone is quite big >

This sucks, but there is an injury code for the second time this happens to the same person:  
V97.33XD: Sucked Into Jet Engine (Subsequent Encounter) >

Yes, very horrifying for many people... the family (apparently this is a mother with three kids), the coworkers, the crew who had to investigate, the crew who had to clean up, and... honestly, anyone who was on the plane or at the gate at the time. >

Holy shit. I can’t imagine that. What an awful way to die, and a horrible thing to witness. >

Actually it's probably a pretty good way to die.  Completely and totally painless and zero time to process and recognize that death is imminent.
Definitely a horrific thing to witness.  But it should be witnessed.  Especially if you work in these types of environments.  Nothing gets somebody to respect a lathe more than showing them what happens when you don't. >

Also feel bad for her colleagues who have to clean up after the accident. I would vomit and have to quit my job. It’s too much. >

It wouldn’t be his colleagues cleaning it up it would be emergency services/fire & rescue, and/or probably a private specialised crime scene cleanup type company >

You would still need the maintenance people to remove and disassemble the entire engine. >

Ever since I saw the video of the crewman getting sucked into the engine of a Navy jet on an aircraft carrier I’ve had occasional nightmares about it. What a most horrible way to die. Especially at the last moment as you’re going in and realize…TIFU by getting to close to the engine…swoop!! >

I can’t imagine the sight this must have been let alone the chills that already exist from this title >

Someone sent me a photo of that kind of thing once and it disturbed me to my core, for a long long time. >

Ingested... what a viscerally descriptive word for this >

like that scene in gta with michael at the airport. i always assumed it was rather unrealistic but apparently it's a thing that can happen? holy crap. rip >

The cargo doors are on the right side. My company at the time had the policy to shut down #2, so they could get into cargo on that side.
That's what the rampers expected us to do, so that's what you did.
I don't have any idea what this company's policy is though. >

That’ll be a closed casket. >

Sad to say there likely won't be anything to put in a casket. >

He was killed "after" being ingested into the engine?  So someone went out there, pulled out his misericorde and administered a coup de grace?
And I would have thought the engine would have killed him when he was ingested into it. >

So, is this like the worker Droid that gets sucked through the podracer's turbine in episode 1? If so, that's fucking gruesome. >

I love that scene, even as nasty as what it implies happened to the guy.
"Darn". >

It actually gets darker... Given how Niska tortures and kills people who disappoint him, the guy who got ingested probably had a kinder death than the guy who agreed to Mal's demands. >

Does anyone else remember that video footage of this happening years ago? I remember their body disappearing entirely and the narrator saying they werent even injured. Uhh... >

That was part of it. The other part was he got stuck before reaching the blades, as in his body was wedge inside the housing and did not reach the fan. Otherwise, even with the helmet destroying the fan he would have suffered some grievous injuries. >

Jesus, my heart goes out to this poor woman and condolences to her family.  Unbelievably heart-breaking. >

Apparently, it was a woman. Mother of three. >

I don't know what's scarier, being sucked into a plane engine, or that it happens so often there's actually a term for it. >

And it has an incident code!