@ShawnTheDriver
I have personal experience with this. Used to work for United at DTW a few years ago. By that point I had been working there for about a year and a half, so I was in that “oh I know what I’m doing” mode, becoming complacent (something you should NEVER DO especially on the ramp). One of our planes came in, an E170. I wasn’t wing walking or marshaling in this flight so I was standing outside of the gate area ready with the chocks and cones for my side. Soon as the plane stopped and I heard the jet bridge bell ringing, signifying it was moving, my brain went into auto pilot. I walked towards the plane, not bothering to check if the movement lights were still on, or if the engine on my side had turned off. I’m a pretty heavy guy, I think at that time I was about 6’2, 280 pounds. I literally walked DIRECTLY in front of the engine. Had the engine not have been turning off literally seconds before I stepped in front of it, or if I had weighed a little less than what I did, I most certainly would’ve been sucked in. I realized my mistake as soon as I dropped the cone in front of the inlet and kept walking and felt the rushing of air and the cone starting to move around. I quickly dashed to the other side of the engine and yoinked the cone with me. The ramp is not somewhere to be complacent or to let your brain go into auto mode. You need to constantly be aware of everything that is going on at all times. Prayers for this woman’s family.
@PInk77W1
I don’t work in aviation I work with tree chippers. I work for a govt tree crew. We got a new chipper. One of our employees had a fake arm like a pirate. We told him, he can’t work around the chipper with his fake arm. He said he would sue. So the management let him work with the chipper. A few months later he was sucked into the chipper and died. A 3yr old should know u shouldn’t work around a chipper in such condition.
@jimmyday9536
The worst part was "a moment later, a mass was ejected from the engine." Gruesome, and tragic.
@chrismontalban5538
My heart goes out, not only to her family, but the Medical Examiner's office and their team that had to recover those remains in order to test them. So, so sad and terrible.
@billfrost6968
During a 20 year career as an aircraft mechanic in the U.S. Air Force I worked on a wide range of aircraft. You had to always treat the engines like they were running while walking around the aircraft. The APU is extremely loud and will mask the sound of an idling engine. When working around airplanes you have to be hyper aware of everything going on around you. There are many things trying to injure or kill you. You cannot safely work around an airplane if you are impaired in any way. Even when you do everything right you can and will get injured. We were doing an engine run on a C-5 Galaxy aircraft. We were checking for possible fuel leaks on #3 engine. The ground crew guy watching for the possible leak was a safe distance in front of the engine. When we ran the engine up to full power a vortex/mini tornado came out of the inlet of the engine and spun down to the ground. Then it darted forward and snatched the ground crew guy off his feet and towards the engine inlet. I gave the order to throttle down. When the guy in the cockpit chopped the throttles Brian dropped about ten feet onto the concrete. He was a big, tall guy and almost got sucked up. That was a close call.
@WhiskeyNTea
I worked as a ticket agent and ramp operator. I do not understand how something like this happens. If you're paying attention and listening to your crew, something like this is absolutely preventable.
@CDN1975
Cannot begin to imagine the trauma of those who witnessed this happen. Hope they have a tremendous amount of support surrounding them. Absolutely heartbreaking.
@seanmadison6360
The thumbnail told me everything I needed to know.
@Mark-pp7jy
I was a ramp instructor for two years straight. Every three weeks, we had a new class, and sometimes a holdover from the previous class who needed more attention. I didn't realize how stressful it was until I quit doing it, and moved into a safety auditor role. I believed in "Having the courage to speak up" about personnel, or policy, but very seldom would the higher-ups take heed. This kind of accident was always my worst fear, not only for the individual and family, but for those who witnessed it. I don't know how anyone could return to the ramp, having experienced such an event. I wanted to be able to sleep at night, knowing I had made my concerns clear to management. It's all I could do. Terribly tragic!
@lawman5511
Isn’t this amazing? This woman was an accident waiting to happen. And it happened.
@charlesfoster141
Great report, good job on this.
@wolfboy8482
Brilliant but sad video. Your knowledge and presentation are superb. I just subscribed.
@T.McGarry
I was a commercial and sport fisherman, and construction worker. Dealing with adults who act like spoiled children goes with the territory. Tell them anything that they should know, and their ego is bruised. What often follows is intentionally doing the exact opposite of common sense and/or best practices - extreme risk, fouling up the work - be damned.
@SilkyMJohnson
The demand for quality employees has skyrocketed, but the quality of the employees has sadly plummeted.
@FHRider-o1m
A terrible tragedy 😢 In addition to the sensible safety concerns raised here, I recognise her commitment to working, earning a wage and raising her family despite her illness. It shows a strength of character and determination that I admire. There has been a lot of research about the use of cannabis to ease symptoms when medication can’t. I work in a physical job, when colleagues have a genuine illness we tend to step in to compensate. There comes a point when management steps in, and they’re let go, it’s a sad day.
@ryanmullins2103
I have a friend that got sucked into an engine when he was working refueling airplanes years ago. He somehow survived but he was pretty roughed up.
@terrabalos
I’m not a pilot. I became a subscriber ONLY because of the wisdom you impart based on the events you discuss. Thank you for being a man of wisdom.
@chapina1492
As a 30 year American Airlines ramp agent, this has always been one of my worst nightmares. This was 100% avoidable. I'm surprised about the drug testing because in MIA and DFW we always get drug tested in order to get hired and if we have any accidents at work. But I fully support surprise drug tests for all employees because I've seen employees working high and I almost got killed in 1999 by an employee high on cocaine. He was fired. I was out of work for almost a year.
@rickdavid1795
I worked as a line mechanic for 17 years. It’s a very dangerous job, especially when people are constantly looking at their phones.
@TakingOff