Airport worker dies after hair is caught in baggage equipment, Louisiana officials say

A 26-year-old baggage handler died after her hair was caught in airport equipment, Louisiana officials said.

The woman’s hair “became entangled with the machinery of the belt loader” at around 10:20 p.m. on Aug. 30 as she worked to unload a plane that had just landed, the woman’s employer, Mike Hough, CEO of GAT Airline Ground Support, said in a statement. She later died from her injuries.

“We are heartbroken and are supporting her family and her friends as best as we are able,” the statement read. “Please send your well wishes to our team members(,) family and to everyone at our New Orleans station during this very difficult time.”

The Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office identified her as Jermani Thompson of Reserve, Louisiana, Nola.com reported. She was pronounced dead at the Ochsner Medical Center in Kenner.

Thompson was a supervisory team member with GAT Airline Ground Support, according to Hough. She had been unloading luggage from a Frontier Airlines flight when her hair got caught, according to Nola.com.

Someone who said they were a friend of Thompson’s wrote on Facebook that she was full of joy “good laughter, and positive energy.”

“Jermani Thompson, this one Hurt,” Ronte Ronta wrote. “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to meet you. It was never a dull moment.”

Frontier Airlines canceled one flight to Atlanta the morning after the incident, according to Jennifer De La Cruz, spokeswoman for the airline.

“We extend our deepest condolences following the tragic death of a team member of our ground handling business partner at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans,” she wrote in a statement. “Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

This story was originally published August 31, 2022 at 1:16 PM with the headline "Airport worker dies after hair is caught in baggage equipment, Louisiana officials say."