Tire explosion at Atlanta airport leaves two dead and one injured

Kelly Yamanouchi

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

(TNS)

ATLANTA — Two people were killed and another person was injured in a Delta Air Lines According to the company, a maintenance facility was opened near Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport early Tuesday morning.

Multiple units from the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and police arrived at the scene of the accident shortly after 5 a.m. at a Delta TechOps maintenance hangar on Maynard H. Jackson Jr. Boulevard near the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson.

According to Channel 2 Action News, which cited several unnamed people, initial reports said an airplane tire had blown out and killed a Delta employee and a contractor. None of the victims have been identified.

Atlanta Fire Rescue has referred inquiries to Delta. Few details have been confirmed by the airline.

“The Delta family is heartbroken over 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),” Delta said in a written statement. “We have pledged our full support to family members and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.”

According to Hartsfield-Jackson spokesman Andrew Gobeil, there was no impact on air traffic.

Delta said it is working with authorities and conducting an investigation to determine what happened. Delta TechOps is the airline’s maintenance, repair and overhaul operation, which operates out of large hangars near the airport.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens released a statement on social media expressing his “deepest condolences to the family and loved ones” of the deceased workers and expressing hope for the recovery of the injured.

Dickens said Atlanta fire, police and airport crews are on site and “working diligently to manage the situation.”

The International Association of Machinists, a union that seeks to organize Delta workers, called on the airline and authorities to “quickly launch a thorough investigation to find out how this happened.”

In a written statement, the union said it extended its “deepest condolences to the families of the victims following this tragic incident.”

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