A John Wayne Airport worker is killed by an exploding tire

A John Wayne Airport worker was killed on the job on the evening of Feb. 19 while working on a 4-foot-tall tire in a workshop just below Gate 3. The incident was first reported to emergency dispatch just after 11:30 p.m.

Investigators who interviewed another employee who’d been working alongside the decedent at the time said that they were attempting to make repairs to one of the tires on a jet bridge, or the walkway connecting the plane to the terminal when the incident occurred.

The worker reported that one of them had climbed on top of the tire while the other remained down below on the ground when the explosion suddenly happened. Although one of the workers was instantly killed when the tire blew out, it’s unclear where the one who survived was positioned at the time. While one employee died, the other walked away completely unscathed.

A report in the matter captures how the explosion was apparently so forceful that it resulted in the workshop’s sprinklers coming on. It also caused a pipe in the area to burst. None of this impacted the Santa Ana airport’s operations.

The two workers involved in the incident were listed as working for JBT, a contractor hired by the airport to perform certain maintenance responsibilities. Police note that they have been readily cooperating with their investigation.

California’s Occupational Health Safety Administration (Cal OSHA) was expected to join the police inquiry into the matter the day following the incident. They’ll be expected to determine whether a faulty repair, a tire defect or something else resulted in the worker’s death.

When someone passes away in Los Angeles, it can be hard to cope with their loss, especially if you rely on their income for financial stability. When you have lost someone near and dear to you unexpectedly on the job, you’ll want to find a legal representative that will fight for you.