On July 3, 2024, aviation mechanic Abolfazl Amiri was killed in an accident at Chabahar Konarak Airport in southern Iran. Amiri, performing routine maintenance on a Boeing 737-500, was sucked into the aircraft’s engine. The engine on the right wing was running for a test check.

Amiri, a local technician working for Varesh Airlines, was working on the Boeing 737-500, which had landed from Tehran at 7:15 a.m. As part of the standard procedure, a safety area was set up around the engine, and the cover flaps were open during the test. When Amiri realized he had forgotten a tool on the engine, he went back to retrieve it and was tragically sucked into the turbine engine, which then caught fire.

Emergency responders quickly arrived and extinguished the fire but could only recover Amiri’s remains from the wreckage. The Iranian aviation authority has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the incident. The aircraft has been grounded for a thorough examination.

This tragic event is not isolated and highlights the danger of working on or being too close to a jet engine:

In May 2024, a person was killed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport after being sucked into a KLM Embraer 190 engine during a pushback procedure. Passengers and crew on board described the incident as creating a “hellish noise” as thick black smoke trailed from the engine. Legal authorities assume that this was a deliberate act of suicide.

In December 2022, airline worker Courtney Edwards, 34, was killed when she was pulled into an Embraer E175 engine while performing her duties. The incident highlighted the critical need for rigorous safety measures when working in the proximity of such a powerful engine.

In June 2022, David Renner, 27, was killed after being sucked into a Delta Airlines plane engine at San Antonio International Airport. His death was also ruled a suicide.