AUSTIN, Texas — An employee of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) was killed in an incident while on-duty Tuesday morning.
The airport confirmed that the Department of Aviation requested emergency service personnel to respond to an incident involving an injured on-duty airport employee on Oct. 31. Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) said medics responded just before 9:30 a.m. to reports that a person had been struck by a vehicle, and the Austin Police Department (APD) also confirmed that officers responded to a call of a crash at the airport.
The employee was pronounced dead at the scene just after 10 a.m. after resuscitation efforts were made by medics.
"Our thoughts are with the deceased’s loved ones, friends, families and colleagues and we ask our community to keep them in their thoughts," the airport said in a statement.
AUS said the incident happened outside, on the secure side of the airport where planes park for passengers to board, near gates 33 and 34. Neither airport operations nor flights have been impacted.
APD said its investigation into this incident is ongoing and that the person's name or job title will not be released at this time.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) told KVUE that it could not comment on an open and ongoing investigation and that by law, OSHA has up to six months to complete its investigation.
This is the second time this year that an airport or airline employee has died at AUS. Back in April, an American Airlines employee died at one of the airport's gates after a ground service vehicle hit a jet bridge.
There have also been three close call incidents involving aircraft at AUS so far this year.
Councilmember Alison Alter (District 10) released the following statement following the employee's death:
"Deeply saddened by the news of a City of Austin Government employee who was killed in a fuel storage truck accident on the tarmac at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. My thoughts are with their family and coworkers. All city employees deserve a safe place to work."