SAN ANTONIO — An airline ground crew member died late Friday night at the San Antonio International Airport after he went into the engine of a Delta airlines plane.
Firefighters and police officers responded to the airport around 10:25 p.m. The NTSB confirmed Saturday that the man was “ingested” into the engine. The flight had just arrived from Los Angeles.
"Delta Flight 1111 was taxiing to the gate, with one engine on at that time, and a worker was ingested into that engine at 10:25 p.m," the NTSB said in a statement.
Monday, the Bexar County Medical Examiner identified the man as David Renner, 27. They also ruled his cause of death as blunt and sharp force injuries and his manner of death as suicide. That information was also provided to the NTSB, who released an update on Monday.
"The NTSB will not be opening an investigation into this event. There were no operational safety issues with either the airplane or the airport," a spokesperson said.
Renner was employed by a company that Delta Airlines contracts with to support ground handling operations, Unifi Aviation. The airline said Saturday morning it was full supporting ongoing investigations.
Meanwhile, Unifi Aviation released the following statement Saturday:
"Unifi Aviation is deeply saddened by the loss of our employee at San Antonio International Airport during a tragic incident in the late hours of Friday, June 23, 2023. Our hearts go out to the family of the deceased, and we remain focused on supporting our employees on the ground and ensuring they are being taken care of during this time.
From our initial investigation, this incident was unrelated to Unifi’s operational processes, safety procedures and policies. Out of respect for the deceased, we will not be sharing any additional information. While police and other officials continue to investigate this incident, we defer to them on providing further details."
David Renner's family provided KENS 5 with this photo:
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