Alabama airport worker who died after being sucked into a plane engine identified; $70k raised for family
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A fundraiser for the family of an airline ground crew employee who was killed at Montgomery Regional Airport after being "sucked into the engine" of a commercial plane has raised more than $70,000.
The worker killed in the incident was identified as 34-year-old Courtney Edwards by the Communications Workers of America. She was a mother of three.
Edwards, a ground agent for Piedmont Airlines, died on Dec. 31 after she was sucked into the engine of an Embraer E175 that was at the gate in Montgomery with the parking brake set, according to a statement from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The jet, operating as American Airlines flight 3408 by regional carrier Envoy Air, had flown from Dallas-Fort Worth to Montgomery. The plane typically holds about 70 seats.
All flights outbound and inbound via Montgomery were initially grounded after the incident.
Donielle Prophete, president of the CWA Local 3645, organized a GoFundMe account that, as of Tuesday evening, has raised just over $72,000 to help Edwards’ mother, Natalie English, manage funeral expenses and raise Edwards’ three children, according to the GoFundMe page.
"Please know that this tragedy has and will affect her mother, family, friends and kids for years to come," Prophete wrote on the page.
On the page, Prophete asked that people donate money to help Edwards' family pay for her funeral and to help with the expenses of raising her children. Her funeral is set for Friday afternoon.
The NTSB is investigating the incident.
Contributing: Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama airport worker sucked into plane engine ID'd; $70k raised
