One of the Delta Airlines employees killed in a bizarre tire explosion in Atlanta suffered injuries so catastrophic that his body was “unrecognizable” – and his family had to identify him by his tattoos, according to his grieving son.
Andre Coleman said his family helped identify his father, Mirko Marweg, 58, as one of two airline workers who died Tuesday while preparing wheel components on a plane for maintenance at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
“I wanted to see the body because I didn’t believe it was real. Neither did my mother,” Coleman told 11Alive News.
He said when they tried to see Marweg, the Clayton County coroner advised them against it because the explosion had rendered the body “unrecognizable.”
Given the damage to his body, Coleman and his family were only able to identify Marweg by his tattoos and the band with the Mississippi state symbol around his neck.
Marweg, an Air Force veteran and craftsman described by his family as a “master repairman,” died along with his colleague, 37-year-old Luis Aldarondo, while another maintenance worker was seriously injured.
Coleman said he was at his father’s house just two days before the incident when Marweg helped him change the oil on his son’s motorcycle.
“That’s the kind of father he was. He was always there for me,” Coleman told the local station. “My father was a great guy, a wonderful father and a wonderful husband.”
Delta’s TechOps operations manager issued a statement to all employees on Tuesday following the deaths of Marweg and Aldarondo.
“I am deeply saddened to announce that three members of the TechOps team were involved in an accident that occurred early this morning in Atlanta TOC 3, Dept. 391 – Wheel and Brake Shop,” wrote COO John Laughter.
“Tragically, two of our team members involved have died and another team member has been seriously injured,” he added. “This news is heartbreaking for all of us.”
Delta issued a similar statement and promised to launch a full investigation into the explosion, the cause of which has not yet been determined.
The company said the wheel parts, which were removed for maintenance, were not attached to the aircraft at the time of the explosion.
The burst tire came from a plane that was flying from Las Vegas to Atlanta on Sunday evening.
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also conducting investigations.
