Two dead after explosion at Delta Air Lines maintenance depot
Two people have been killed and another seriously injured after an explosion at a Delta Air Lines maintenance depot at Atlanta’s airport in Georgia.
An aircraft tyre reportedly exploded, according to a union representative who spoke to Sky News’ US partner, NBC News.
Several fire and police units responded to a hangar at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia shortly after 5am (10am UK time).
The airline said it is conducting an investigation and working with local authorities.
“The Delta family is heartbroken at the loss of two team members and the injury of another following an incident this morning at the Atlanta Technical Operations Maintenance facility,” Delta said in a statement.
“We have extended our full support to family members and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.”
Fire and police crews at the maintenance hangar where the deaths happened. Pic: Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP
A spokesman for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said the agency had also started an investigation.
The wheel and brake maintenance facility where the explosion happened is part of Delta TechOps, which performs maintenance, repair and overhaul work for Delta and more than 150 aviation and airline customers around the world.
In 2023, Atlanta was ranked as the world’s busiest airport, handling 104 million passengers.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers sent their condolences to the workers’ families.
The union, which represents airline industry workers across North America, said: “We will offer our resources to all those impacted by this tragic event,” adding “we call on Delta and the relevant authorities to quickly launch a thorough investigation into how this happened”.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport also issued a statement saying its “prayers are with the families affected by the tragic incident”.
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Writing on X, Atlanta’s mayor Andre Dickens said: “I offer my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased Delta employees.
“My thoughts are also with those who were injured, and I hope for their swift and full recovery.”
Meanwhile, in January a nose wheel fell off a Boeing 757 jet which was taxiing on the runway with 184 passengers on board at Atlanta’s international airport.
The wheel “came off and rolled down the hill” as the Delta Air Lines flight was waiting to take off, according to a report from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is still investigating the incident.
Police officers found a handgun, a silencer and a red notebook described as a “manifesto” when they arrested Luigi Mangione.
The 27-year-old was arrested in December 2024 and charged with killing UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York City.
Mangione‘s lawyers want to block prosecutors from showing or telling jurors at his eventual trial in Manhattan about statements he allegedly made and items they said police seized from his backpack during his arrest at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.
The objects include a 9mm handgun prosecutors say matches the one used in the killing, a silencer, a magazine with bullets wrapped in underwear and a notebook in which they say Mangione described his intent to “wack” a healthcare executive.
Mangione with his attorney. Pic: Reuters
The defence contends the items should be excluded because police did not get a warrant before searching Mangione’s backpack.
Prosecutors deny claims Mangione was illegally searched and questioned.
They also want to suppress some statements he made to police, such as allegedly giving a false name, because officers asked him questions before telling him he had a right to remain silent.
Last week, Mangione watched surveillance videos of the killing of Mr Thompson, 50, as he walked to a New York City hotel for his company’s annual investor conference.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges.
The state charges carry the possibility of life in prison, while federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
This week’s hearing concerns only the state case, but Mangione’s lawyers want to bar evidence from both cases.
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In September, a judge dismissed two terrorism counts against Mangione, finding prosecutors had not presented enough evidence Mangione intended to intimidate health insurance workers or influence government policy.
Trial dates are yet to be set in either the state or federal cases.
Paramount has launched a £108.4bn hostile bid for Warner Bros, challenging Netflix, which had reached a $72bn takeover deal with the company.
Paramount said on Monday that it was going straight to Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) shareholders with a $30 per share in cash offer for the entirety of the company, including its Global Networks segment, asking them to reject the deal with Netflix.
On Friday Netflix struck a deal to buy WBD, the Hollywood giant behind “Harry Potter” and HBO Max
The agreement means Warner Bros Discovery’s library of film and TV successes including Harry Potter and Game Of Thrones will come under the same roof as Stranger Things and Squid Game.
The cash and stock deal is valued at $27.75 per Warner share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt.
But Paramount says its deal will pay $30 cash per share, representing $18 billion more in cash than its rivals are offering.
In a statement, Paramount said it was making a “strategically and financially compelling offer to WBD shareholders” and a “superior alternative to the Netflix transaction”.
File pic: iStock
David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said: “WBD shareholders deserve an opportunity to consider our superior all-cash offer for their shares in the entire company.
“Our public offer, which is on the same terms we provided to the Warner Bros. Discovery Board of Directors in private, provides superior value, and a more certain and quicker path to completion.
“We believe the WBD Board of Directors is pursuing an inferior proposal which exposes shareholders to a mix of cash and stock, an uncertain future trading value of the Global Networks linear cable business and a challenging regulatory approval process.
“We are taking our offer directly to shareholders to give them the opportunity to act in their own best interests and maximize the value of their shares.”
Paramount said it had submitted six proposals to WBD in the course of 12 weeks, but that they were never “meaningfully” engaged with.
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