NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ATL89LA172
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
FAILURE OF THE GROUND EMPLOYEE TO FOLLOW NORMAL SAFETY PROCEDURES. HIS LACK OF FAMILIARITY WITH THE OPERATION WAS A RELATED FACTOR.
Factual narrative
JUST AS THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING STOPPED ON CONCOURSE 'C' TO DEPLANE PASSENGERS, A GROUND EMPLOYEE WALKED BEHIND THE #2 ENGINE TO CHOCK THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR. AS HE WENT BEHIND THE ENGINE, THE JET BLAST (EXHAUST) HURLED HIM ABOUT FIVE FEET TO THE GROUND. THE EMPLOYEE SUSTAINED A BROKEN JAW AND SEVERAL BRUISES AND LACERATIONS. HE HAD BEEN HIRED ON 6/9/89 (17 DAYS BEFORE THE ACDNT). ACCORDING TO HIS TRAINING RECORD, HE HAD RECEIVED TRAINING IN RAMP SAFETY. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1989_ATL89LA172.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
Beyond the agency record
Search this event elsewhere.
Pre-filled searches into the sources where news + community discussion of aviation events lives. External sources are reported, not agency. Treat them as signal that something happened, not as fact about what happened.
Entity-clustered aviation events in the press — last 24 hr + 30-day archive.
Official agency record + docket.
Investigative docket: factual reports, photos, transcripts.
Long-running aviation incident database (Flight Safety Foundation).
Community NTSB synthesis blog — often has photos and witness reports.
Gold-standard aviation incident blog.
Aviation industry news search.
GA pilot forum — informed but rumor-prone.
GA pilot subreddit search.
Tail-number page — flight history (free tier limited).
AOPA Air Safety Institute search.
Mainstream press coverage. Recent events only.
Privacy-preserving news search.
External links open in a new tab. We don't ingest their content; we deep-link search queries.