Texas airport worker ‘ingested’ into plane engine committed suicide: medical examiner

SAN ANTONIO (Texas, US) — A ground worker died Friday night when he was sucked into an engine of a jet that had just landed at San Antonio International Airport, and the local medical examiner is ruling it a suicide.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Monday it will not open an investigation. The accident investigator said that based on information provided by the medical examiner, “there were no operational safety issues with either the airplane or the airport.”

The NTSB is the chief U.S. accident investigator. The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates airlines and aviation safety, indicated that it would investigate.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office said David Renner, 27, died of blunt and sharp-force injuries, and the manner of death was listed as suicide. The official declined to provide further information.

A Delta Air Lines plane that had flown from Los Angeles was pulling up to the terminal when the incident occurred, according to the FAA.

Delta said the ground worker was employed by Unifi Aviation, which Delta hires for ground services at the San Antonio airport.

Unifi says it has 20,000 aviation workers who handle baggage, cargo, catering, fueling and other jobs at 200 locations. — NNN-AGENCIES