ATLANTA (TND) — Delta Airlines revealed what three employees were doing when a tire burst, killing two men and seriously injuring a third person.
The airline told The National Desk that the incident at its wheel and brake shop “involved wheel components being disassembled for maintenance.”
They pointed out that the wheel was “not attached to an aircraft” at the time of the explosion.
Clayton County coroner’s officials identified the Georgians killed in the incident as 58-year-old Mirko F. Marweg and 37-year-old Luis Aldarondo.
First responders arrived at Delta’s Technical Operations Center near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after 5 a.m. Tuesday.
Marweg, Aldarondo and the third unidentified person involved were working on Delta’s behalf when the incident occurred, according to Delta Airlines. The injured person remains under medical treatment, the statement added.
John Laughter, chief of operations and president of Delta TechOps, called the incident an “accident” in a memo to employees on Tuesday.
Tragically, two of our team members involved have passed away and another team member has been seriously injured. We are fully supporting their families during this difficult time and are conducting an investigation to find out what happened.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.
Laughter also expressed his support for his employees in his memo.
“Please know that your safety and well-being always come first and that your leaders are there for you,” it said.
Flights on Tuesday were not affected. Delta said Tuesday’s incident did not impact customer or maintenance operations.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials told TND that they were aware of the incident and were in contact with the airline.
