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Detroit Airport Events Point Up Airport Safety Problems Nationwide.
April, 2007
The death of an airport ramp worker at Detroit Metropolitan Airport followed just two days later by the arrest of another ramp worker for flipping over a de-icing truck while drinking, is an alarming set of events in an industry where ground-based airport accidents are already a $4 billion problem.
The issue was life threatening even before Monday's tragedy in which an 18-year old ramp worker was killed after being struck by an airplane tug. In December 2005, the passengers aboard a Alaska Airlines flight were subject to a harrowing 30 minutes because unreported damage to the airplane shortly before takeoff caused an two foot section of the passenger cabin to rip open as the plane was flying at 26-thousand feet.
The Alaska Airlines incident and at least five ramp worker deaths over the past few years raises questions about the safety of ground operations at the nation's airports and the increasingly popular trend among airlines to contract with outsiders for ramp services.
Daniel O. Rose a pilot and a partner with the New York aviation law firm Kreindler & Kreindler says events like those at Detroit's airport show more attention must to be paid to creating a safe environment for airport workers and the airplane when its on the ground.
"There's no subsitute for giving ramp workers extensive training for the critical work they do, but it takes time. So far I don't see where these ground service providers have been willing to take the time to make sure their employees do their job safely and responsibly. As a consequence they are getting killed and air travelers are at risk as well."
Safe airport operations require extensive training for all workers on the airfield including driving on runways and around aircraft, proper handling of equipment and the use of high visibility and protective clothing and equipment.
Some previous fatal events involving ground workers at U.S. Airports:
- September 2003 — a tug operator is killed when the driver becomes lodged between the tug and the nose of a Northwest Airlines plane at Norfolk's International Airport.
- August 5, 2001 — a ramp agent is killed by walking into the propeller of a US Airways commuter plane at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington DC.
- June 2005 — the operator of baggage loading equipment is killed after becoming lodged beneath a US Airways airplane at Washington National Airport.
- January 2006 — a mechanic is sucked into the engine of a Continential Airlines engine while working on the aircraft at the gate.
Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, Tradition of Excellence, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Los Angeles.
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