Airline Ground Worker Loses Leg Company Fined

American Airlines was fined £70,000 ($101,519) after a ground support worker’s leg was amputated following an London’s Heathrow Airport.

The worker was preparing an aircraft at Terminal 3 at Heathrow, when a 70-tonne 'pushback tug,” used to move aircraft from the departure gate, finished maneuvering a plane into position and was leaving the stand, when it knocked the worker to the ground and ran over his right leg. The employee fractured his right ankle and left heel and suffered cuts to his head and left leg. The injury to his leg was so serious it was amputated just below his hip.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation showed the tug did not have reversing lights required for after dark use or an audible reversing alarm.

The man, unable to work said, “The incident has effectively turned my life upside down and has affected both myself and my family drastically in a number of different ways. "Because of thedifficulty of mobility, the pain I am in and the overall effect of [the] incident it means that I am unable to involve myself in the normal family events. I have to be careful at all times because of the mobility I have lost in which most people take for granted."

American Airlines pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 24 and 28(f) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, at the City of London Magistrates' Court, on March 19, 2010. In addition to the large fine, the company must pay full costs of £10,581.25 ($15,345.00) at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey).

HSE Inspector John Crookes stated, "The worker suffered injuries of a life-changing nature, which were in part due to American Airlines failing to follow internal guidance requiring modification to pushback tugs. "By failing to identify the problems with this tug over many years, the company fell well below the expected standard of safety management for a major international airline. (workersxzcompxzkit)

"Vehicle movements are one of the main risks facing airside ground support workers in the aviation industry. This is why it is crucial for companies to ensure the vehicles are properly fitted with reversing lights and audible warning alarms."

Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers’ Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. Contact him: [email protected] or 860-553-6604.

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