A British Airways engineer remains in a “serious” condition in a London hospital after falling 20ft from an aircraft. The engineer is believed to have been working on the auxiliary power unit (APU) at the airline’s maintenance facility on Vanguard Way at Heathrow airport when the incident occurred.
Emergency services were called to the scene just after 02:00 local time on Sunday, December 7.
A source told media outlets that the incident came as a complete shock to the engineer’s colleagues and that he fell during a routine inspection. Speaking to The Sun newspaper, the engineer said: “This type of accident is incredibly rare and has sent shockwaves through the BA community. The mechanic was assessing the safety of a jet in a routine inspection when he suddenly fell at least 20ft onto concrete.
“He was a trusted engineer with an impeccable background, and an investigation will establish how this could have happened. It really didn’t look good.”
Meanwhile, a British Airways spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with our colleague, and we’re supporting them, their family and their colleagues. Safety is always our highest priority, and we’re assisting the authorities with their enquiries.”
The airline has launched a full investigation, and the Health & Safety Executive is separately “making enquiries” into the incident.
[Cover image credit British Airways]
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