ATLANTA (AP) — Two workers were killed and another seriously injured Tuesday in a tire explosion at a Delta Air Lines maintenance center near the Atlanta airport, officials said.
Delta said the explosion occurred when wheel parts were being removed for maintenance in the wheel and brake shop. The parts were not attached to the plane at the time, the airline said.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it had launched an investigation. Delta said it was working with authorities and that the cause of the blast had not yet been released.
Multiple Atlanta fire units and police responded to a maintenance hangar near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport shortly after 5 a.m. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The airport said flights were not affected, and Delta said its maintenance work was not impacted.
“The Delta family is saddened by the loss of two team members and the injury of another following an incident this morning at the Atlanta Technical Operations Maintenance Facility,” Delta said in a statement. “We offer our full support to family members and co-workers during this incredibly difficult time.”
Delta thanked first responders and medical teams, and said the injured employee remained in medical care as of Tuesday afternoon.
“We are now working closely with local authorities and conducting a full investigation to determine what exactly happened,” the Atlanta-based airline said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it is in contact with Delta, but the FAA has sent a request to the airline for additional information about the apparent crash. OSHA spokesman Eric Lucero said the federal workplace-safety agency has opened an investigation.
The facility where the explosion occurred is part of Delta TechOps, which performs maintenance, repair and overhaul for Delta and more than 150 aviation and airline customers around the world.
John Laughter, Delta's executive vice president of TechOps, said in a note to employees that the airline would make counselors available to workers.
“We are all in this together and by supporting each other we will get through this,” he said.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens posted on Instagram to offer his condolences to relatives of the victims.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which is trying to organize 20,000 ground workers at the largely non-union Delta, called on the airline and authorities to “launch a full investigation into how this happened.”