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Andrey Abakumov: Airport technician, 48, killed on spot when he walked into airplane's spinning propeller

The shocking video shows a staff member covering Andrey's lifeless body with a white sheet

Warning: This article contains graphic footage that can be traumatic for some readers. Discretion is advised

BELOYARSKY, RUSSIA: An airport technician was decapitated by a propeller blade at Beloyarsky Airport in Russia. Shocking footage captured the moment when Andrey Abakumov, 48, was killed after he walked into the plane's spinning propeller. The unfortunate accident happened on Friday, August 19, and he immediately died on spot. 

According to Pravda, Andrey worked at the airport in the Khanty-Mansiysk region of the country. His job was reportedly to get the planes ready for take-off. The video shows him working next to a stationary UTair Antonov An-24 aircraft. As he wanders towards the front of the plane, the gory footage shows the spinning propeller suddenly smashing him in the head. He collapses to the ground as the propeller comes to a grinding halt and nearby colleagues race over to help. Paramedics rushed to the scene but it was already too late by then. A member of staff can later be seen covering Andrey's lifeless body with a white sheet. Investigators said that they are looking into the circumstances of his death.

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Simpleflying reported that a spokesperson of the airline said, "On August 19, at the airport of the Beloyarsk Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra, after starting the engines on an An-24 aircraft preparing to fly to Berezovo, an accident occurred while clearing the thrust pads, an aircraft technician fell under the blades of a rotating propeller and received injuries incompatible with life. The reasons for the incident are being established." The An-24 involved belonged to Russia's fourth largest carrier, UTair, and was preparing to operate a flight to Berezovo. 

The Central Interregional Investigation Department for Transport of the Russian Federation stated, "According to preliminary data, at 13:48 (11:48 Moscow time) on August 19 at the airport of the city of Beloyarsky during the procedure for the release of the An-24 of the Utair airline, an agent of the ground handling service of the aircraft was injured by the propeller of the aircraft. The victim died on the spot from his injuries."

Similar incidents in the past

In July this year, a 35-year-old man was pronounced dead on the scene after a construction incident at Gatwick Airport Station. The same month, a worker died from electrocution during a construction accident at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, North Carolina. In February, a 70-year-old ground handler at Heathrow was reportedly "crushed to death" by a 20-tonne loading machine during a cargo shift. In 2019, a worker at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport was pinned between a baggage loading vehicle and a United Airlines aircraft and died from the resulting injuries. A year later, a worker at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok died after being crushed by a Boeing 737 belonging to Nok Air.