Two Killed As Plane Tyre Explodes At Delta Air Lines’ Atlanta Maintenance Facility

Two workers were killed and another injured after a tyre on a plane exploded at a Delta Air Lines maintenance facility near the Atlanta airport in the US state of Georgia early Tuesday, according to multiple media reports.

WSB-TV reported that a tyre on a plane exploded, killing one Delta employee and a contract worker.

Several Atlanta fire units and police responded to the maintenance hangar near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport shortly after 5 a.m., The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“The Delta family is heartbroken at 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 have extended our full support to family members and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.”

Delta thanked first responders and medical teams.

“We are now working with local authorities and conducting a full investigation to determine what happened,” the Atlanta-based airline said.

The facility where the accident happened is part of Delta TechOps, which performs maintenance, repair and overhaul work for Delta and more than 150 aviation and airline customers around the world.

The president of TechOps, Delta Executive Vice President John Laughter, said in a note to staff that the airline will make counselors available to talk to employees.

“We’re all in this together, and we’ll get through this by supporting each other,” he said.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens posted on X 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 largely nonunion Delta, called on the airline and authorities “to quickly launch a thorough investigation into how this happened.”

(With inputs from agencies)