Two workers killed in Delta maintenance facility near Atlanta airport

Mirko Marweg, 58, of Stone Mountain, and Luis Aldarondo, 37, of Newnan, were killed in the incident, the Clayton County Coroner's Office said.

Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Marweg's wife, Scottie Ann Marweg, described her husband as a generous man. “He helped everybody,” she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He was a loving father and a loving husband, a loving brother.”

Delta said investigations are currently underway to determine the cause of the incident.

This raises questions about safety procedures in airline maintenance operations, where employees often work with large components and equipment.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it was investigating the incident. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was aware of the incident and was “in contact with the airline.” Delta said it was cooperating with authorities.

John Laughter, President of Delta TechOps, said in a memo to TechOps employees Tuesday morning that two TechOps team members had died and another was seriously injured. “We extend our full support to their families during this difficult time and are conducting an investigation to determine what happened,” Laughter said.

“This news is heartbreaking for all of us,” he added.

Laughter told Delta TechOps employees that the company would have Employee Assistance Program resources on-site to assist and that counselors would be available 24/7.

Delta TechOps is the airline's maintenance, repair and overhaul operation, which operates out of large hangars near the airport. The incident occurred in one of those hangars.

There was no impact on air traffic, said Hartsfield-Jackson spokesman Andrew Gobeil.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens released a statement on social media expressing his “deepest condolences” to the families and loved ones of the deceased workers and expressing hope for the recovery of the injured.

Dickens said Atlanta fire, police and airport crews arrived at the scene.

Airlines often stress the importance of safety in an industry that involves many risks. Delta CEO Ed Bastian told employees in a message last week that the company had seen a “significant reduction in injuries compared to the previous year” in the first half of 2024.

Bastian pointed to the improvements in a memo marking the departure of Delta Chief Operating Officer Mike Spanos, who took a job with another company, saying Spanos helped “improve Delta's performance over the past year.”

Following Tuesday's incident, the International Association of Machinists, a union that seeks to organize Delta workers, called on the airline and authorities to “quickly launch a thorough investigation to find out how this happened.”

In a written statement, the union said it would like to express its deepest condolences to the families of the victims following this tragic incident.

This is not the first time a Delta employee has died in a workplace accident. Last August, an employee at a San Francisco cargo facility was killed when he drove an electric tug into a cargo box and became trapped between it and the tug, according to an OSHA report.

In 2010, the driver of a baggage hauler was ejected from his vehicle and died, leading to a settlement with OSHA under which Delta agreed to install seat belts in airport vehicles. That driver was one of two Delta employees who died in separate incidents in 2010 after being ejected from baggage haulers.