Boeing Jet Tire Explosion at Atlanta Airport Kills Two
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Two workers were killed, and another was injured when a Boeing 757-232 jet tire exploded during maintenance at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, local media reported on Tuesday.
The Boeing 757-232 jet belonging to Delta Air Lines had been undergoing maintenance at a Delta Technical Operations Maintenance (Delta TechOps) hangar since Sunday when the incident occurred, according to RT.
The cause of the explosion remains unclear, but according to FOX 5 Atlanta, the tire had already been removed from the aircraft at the time of the blast.
The explosion "sent a piece of metal flying like a missile," killing two employees instantly, while another was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries, local WSB-TV reported.
The Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims as Mirko Marweg, 58, and Luis Aldarondo, 37.
John Laughter, Delta TechOps President and Operations Chief, confirmed the fatalities in a statement, expressing deep sorrow over the loss of two team members and pledging support for their families. Laughter also assured a thorough investigation into the incident.
This tragedy adds to the recent scrutiny Boeing has faced due to safety concerns and flaws discovered in its aircraft.
In a separate development, Boeing halted test flights of its 777X jetliner following inspections that revealed critical part failures in three out of four test planes.
Additionally, Boeing is nearing the end of a legal saga with the US Justice Department over fraud charges related to its MCAS stability system, which was implicated in two crashes in 2018 and 2019 that resulted in nearly 350 deaths.
The aerospace giant has agreed to a plea deal, which includes a $243.6 million fine, $455 million investment in safety and compliance programs, and three years of probation under government monitoring.
