A terrible accident took away the mother of three children!
Courtney Edwards died a horrible death – a plane turbine ripped her off her feet and the mother of three was sucked into the engine.
The woman from Alabama (US state of Alabama) worked hard to provide her children with a good future. This was also the case on December 31, 2022, when the 34-year-old began her service as a ground crew at the regional airport in Montgomery (Alabama).
An Embraer 170-200 passenger plane had landed there and was waiting to be cleared. Because there were technical problems with the power supply from an installed auxiliary power unit (APU), the pilots left the turbines running.
This was to ensure that the technology might cool down. A standard process that usually takes only minutes.
Immediately following landing, ground personnel were instructed not to go near the turbines. But apparently Edwards ignored the warning. According to the US Air Traffic Safety Administration’s preliminary report released Monday, a pilot had applied the parking brake and shut down the right wing engine when an alarm went off in the cockpit.
The alarm indicated that the forward cargo hatch had been opened. The pilot then even opened the window to warn the ground crew of the danger. But it was too late!
According to the preliminary accident report, Edwards, wearing an orange safety cone, ran in front of the turbine on the left wing and was “snatched from her feet into the running engine”.
Tragic: A colleague claims to have noticed how Edwards was almost knocked over by the force of the recoil shortly before her death. He is said to have tried to warn the mother of three. In addition, a light is said to have flashed, indicating the danger. Apparently, Edwards ignored all warnings.
A terrible sight for all involved. It’s hard to imagine what happened in the split seconds following the accident. “The plane shook terribly and the turbine shut down automatically,” the co-pilot is quoted as saying. The 59 passengers on board must have been terribly shocked. The final report is expected in regarding a year. first had WBRC reported on the case.
At a Fundraiser So far, 108,000 dollars have been raised online for the family of the deceased.