In the closing days of August, a tragedy happened at one of the premier MROs in the world, Delta TechOps. Two people were killed, and another seriously injured, during what should have been a routine procedure in a wheel and brake shop.
Mirko Marweg, 58, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, and Luis Aldarondo, 37, of Newnan, Georgia, were the Delta employees who died. Another employee was injured but not identified. Delta didn’t directly state what happened in the incident. But the company did say in a statement, it was “working with local authorities and conducting a full investigation to determine what happened.”
A report from Atlanta Fire Rescue contained a written narrative from workers who were there when the situation unfolded. “I heard an explosion behind me and saw my co-workers running away from the direction of the explosion. I realized they were running to get help,” the eyewitness report stated. Additionally, the witness reported seeing a body with blood, according to the report.
According to reports, Marweg and Aldarondo were killed just after 5 a.m. while working with wheel components that were being disassembled for maintenance. This work was being done off the aircraft, not on the aircraft. However, a report from Atlanta Fire Rescue listed a narrative from a worker who was there when the situation unfolded. In the report, AFR also said they responded to a “tire explosion.”
While this kind of accident is rare, it is important to remember that it can happen any time, to anyone. Even with safety management systems in place, things can go awry quickly. One thing is certain, this event will be thoroughly investigated to determine exactly what happened, where the chain of events broke down and how it can be avoided in the future.
It must have been devastating for all who work there and certainly for those who knew the mechanics who were killed and injured. A Delta spokesperson said counseling will be made available.
Marweg was known in his family as a “Mr. Fix-It” and a loving man who helped all. Marweg’s son, Andre Coleman, said in local news reports that he could not believe that this happened to his father and that he would no longer have him by his side. “I’m in a state of shock,” Coleman said. “I wanted to view the body because I didn’t believe it was true. Neither did my mom.” However, when they tried to view the body, the Clayton County Medical Examiner said Marweg’s body was “unrecognizable,” and they couldn’t. It is reported that they identified him by tattoos and the Mississippi State lanyard around his neck. “My dad was an amazing guy, wonderful father, wonderful husband. I just saw him Sunday after I told him I needed an oil change. That’s the kind of dad he was. He was always there,” Coleman said.
Delta Air Lines said in a statement that the accident involved “aircraft wheel components.” It also stated it is investigating. OSHA confirmed it is investigating as well.
Former National Transportation Safety Board member and former airline mechanic John Goglia said in a news interview that he believes the incident could only happen one of two ways: “Either proper procedures failed to be followed, or the tire had weakened from repeated landings and cracked and burst.” Goglia said the latter is a “very rare event.” “So it’s more likely that the procedures were not followed, and a very catastrophic event occurred,” Goglia said in the 11Alive news report.
“With at least 200 pounds of nitrogen in that tire, any failure to the wheel halves, it’s going to disintegrate rapidly, and it’s going to shatter,” Goglia said. “So that means small pieces traveling at a pretty good rate of speed, and that’s typically the cause of most of the injuries.”
Goglia also called airline maintenance a “risky business,” and said that the “people that write workers compensation once told me it’s among the riskiest jobs that they insure.”
John Laughter, president of Delta TechOps, E.V.P. and chief of operations, said this in a letter released to all Delta employees: “I’m deeply saddened to share that three TechOps team members were involved in an accident that took place early this morning in Atlanta TOC 3, Dept. 391 – Wheel & Brake Shop. Tragically, two of our team members involved passed away and one other team member was seriously injured. We are extending our full support to their families at this difficult time and conducting an investigation to determine what happened … Please know your safety and wellbeing comes first — always, and that your leaders are here for you. Please continue to take good care of yourself and one another. We’re all in this together, and we’ll get through this by supporting each other.”
Soon we’ll be able to review reports about this incident.
A likely contributing factor will be failure to follow procedures (FFP) which is one of the most pervasive human factor issues in aviation maintenance, contributing to a majority of all accidents/incidents, according to the FAA. If you would like to review some information on procedural compliance with your teams, the FAA.gov website has some great resources. You can find them at https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/maintenance_hf/procedural_non-compliance