NEWARK, N.J. – A cargo worker at Newark Liberty International Airport died early Tuesday morning after he was struck by a 750-pound piece of equipment used to stabilize the rear section of a plane during loading and unloading.
Timothy Gallagher, an employee of Worldwide Flight Services, was towing a tailstand for an Eva Airlines Boeing 747 when the 16.5-foot-tall structure fell over and struck him in the head and upper torso, said Pasquale DiFulco, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.
The incident happened just after midnight, about 12:25 a.m., outside Terminal B where planes are positioned when they are loading and unloading.
He was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Hospital in Newark at 1:22 a.m., DiFulco said.
The Port Authority is investigating the accident, and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been briefed, he said.
Officials believe Gallagher was about 40 years old, and his last known address was in Jersey City.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV 05-29-07 1620EDT
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