A Texas woman is suing an aviation ground handling company after seeing a horrific incident where a worker got ingested into an airplane’s engine on the tarmac.
It happened at San Antonio International Airport on June 23. The lawsuit said Mackenzie Hill, a recent graduate, was sitting on the Delta Air Lines flight that departed from Los Angeles when she saw a man on the ground get close to the plane, WOAI reported.
Per court documents, Hill saw the moment the man, later identified as 27-year-old ground worker David Renner, got sucked into the engine, according to the report. The gruesome act prompted Hill and other passengers, directed by the onboard crew, to close their windows. They were given the green light to deplane 15 minutes later.
According to the lawsuit, Hill asked if law enforcement needed to speak to witnesses about what happened, which the crew declined, the news station reported. However, she found out officials indeed were asking for statements.
As The Associated Press previously noted, Renner’s death was determined to be a suicide by The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office. Officials said he suffered from “sharp force injuries.”
The lawsuit claims that Renner was battling with mental health challenges, WOAI reported. It alleges that he suffered from substance abuse, gave a supervisor a suicide letter, and had mental health rants on social media, according to the report. The suit also reportedly listed that Renner potentially had been criminally charged in the past.
According to the lawsuit, Hill has experienced nightmares and flashbacks because of what she witnessed, Insider reported.
“She’s recovering, but she feels permanently damaged,” her attorney told the outlet. “She feels permanently scarred by what happened.”
In a statement to Insider, a representative for Unifi Aviation commented on Hill’s claims, stating in part that the claims “do not have any merit and intend to zealously defend ourselves.”
Hill filed the lawsuit against the company earlier this month. She is seeking award damages for attorney fees, past and future mental anguish, medical expenses and physical impairment in the past, among other requests.
