2 workers killed and 1 injured in explosion at Delta Air Lines factory in Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) — An explosion in a Delta Air Lines maintenance hangar near Atlanta airport killed two workers and seriously injured another on Tuesday.

Delta said it is working with local authorities to investigate the incidents at the wheel and brake shop.

WSB-TV reported that a tire on an airplane had burst. The television station cited anonymous sources.

Several Atlanta fire departments and police officers responded to the maintenance hangar near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport shortly after 5 a.m. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on this. Flights to and from the airport were not affected.

“The Delta family is heartbroken over 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 pledged our full support to family members and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.”

Delta thanked first responders and medical teams.

“We are now working with local authorities and conducting a full investigation to determine what happened,” the Atlanta-based airline said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was in contact with Delta but had referred a request for more information about the suspected accident to the airline. A spokesman for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Eric Lucero, said the agency had opened an investigation.

The facility where the explosion occurred is part of Delta TechOps, which performs maintenance, repair and overhaul for Delta and more than 150 aviation and airline customers around the world.

The president of TechOps, Delta Executive Vice President John Laughter, said in a note to employees that the airline will provide consultants to employees.

“We are all in the same boat and we will get through this by supporting each other,” he said.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens posted on X to express his condolences to the victims' families.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which is trying to organize Delta's 20,000 ground workers, most of whom are non-union, called on the airline and authorities to “quickly launch a thorough investigation to find out how this happened.”