Baggage handler, grounds crew worker killed in accident at Raleigh airport

Dan Deuterman

Contributor

0 CommentsPrint ArticleSubscribe

A recent workplace fatality at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina has brought attention to the hazards ground crews at airports face everyday.

Lufuluabo Kalonji, 43, a flight service clerk was killed July 31, 2007, while working near Gate C23 at RDU. It's still unclear exactly what happened in the fatal airport accident .

Officials know that Kalonji was working with an American Eagle plane and a baggage tug. Fleet service clerks generally work on the ramp, loading baggage and performing other similar tasks.

The North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Division and American Eagle have launched investigations. One area of concern is whether the victim was actually trained to use the baggage tug and/or if the equipment malfunctioned.

Investigators will be interviewing many of his co-workers at RDU to piece together what happened that fateful evening. WRAL and The News & Observer in Raleigh are covering the story.