Plane Mechanic Dies in Horrific Accident on Tarmac

A mechanic searching for a tool on the tarmac at an Iranian airport instead suffered a tragic death after he was sucked into a Varesh Airlines plane engine. The Times of India reports that the Boeing 737-500 flying in from Tehran landed safely at Chabahar Konarak Airport around 7:15am local time on July 3, and as the passengers got off, an engine on the plane's right side was turned on for a test run, with its cover flaps open. NDTV notes this is "standard practice," and that a mandated safety area had been set up around the engine.

However, mechanic Abolfazl Amiri apparently wandered too close to the engine and was pulled into it, right before it burst into flames. "Needless to say, he died instantly," TMZ notes. Amiri's body was said to have been recovered by fire officials who arrived on the scene. Iranian aviation authorities are investigating how this happened. A similar incident recently took place in the United States: A ground crew employee got sucked into the engine of a Delta plane last year in San Antonio, Texas, though that incident was later ruled a suicide. (More Boeing stories.)