Two people have been tragically killed, and a third person is fighting for their life in an Atlanta hospital after a serious workplace accident at an aircraft maintenance hangar operated by Delta Air Lines at Hartsfield International Airport early on Tuesday morning.
In a statement, the airline confirmed that one Delta employee and one contractor had been killed, and another Delta employee had been seriously injured in the accident.
The exact circumstances of the accident are yet to be revealed but sources claimed the three workers sustained serious injuries when an aircraft tire unexpectedly burst as it was being taken off the Boeing 757 airplane.
The aircraft had reportedly arrived in Atlanta following a flight from Las Vegas on Sunday and had been sent to the hangar for routine maintenance.
“The Delta family is heartbroken at the loss of two team members and the injury of another following an incident this morning at the Atlanta Technical Operations Maintenance facility (TOC 3),” a spokesperson for the airline said.
“We have extended our full support to family members and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.”
The spokesperson added: “The Delta family is grateful for the quick action of first responders and medical teams on site. We are now working with local authorities and conducting a full investigation to determine what happened.”
Commercial airliner tires are highly pressurized and even smaller single-aisle aircraft like Boeing 737s and Airbus A320 series aircraft have tires inflated to pressures of up to 300 psi (pounds per square inch).
In comparison, the average car tire is inflated to around 35 psi.
Larger widebody aircraft like Boeing 777s can have tires inflated to as much as 320 psi in order to withstand the extreme forces that they will experience during takeoff and landing, although this level of inflation comes with some risks.
Although rare, a burst aircraft tire will release an explosive amount of stored energy and debris, and tire fragments will be expelled out like shrapnel from a bomb.
