Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at American Airlines, 10900 Lambert International Boulevard, BRIDGETON, MISSOURI 63044
on — Fractures, affecting the hip(s).
Final narrative
An employee slipped on a wet floor and fell, suffering a broken hip.
An employee had just arrived to work and was driving a tug to the gatehouse. The tug ran over chocks while exiting the inbound area, causing the employee to fall to the ground. He was hospitalized with four fractured ribs.
During installation of one of the wheel assemblies, the injured employee was working to align the brake disc to the wheel keyways. Another mechanic was applying pressure to the wheel in the install direction. When the alignment was achieved and the wheel slid on, the injured employee's left thumb was caught between the brake disc and the wheel keyway. Approximately inch of the thumb tip was severed, without bone loss.
An employee was preparing to remove the nose landing gear (NLG) assembly. The employee removed the nut from the connecting pin, which links the lower drag brace to the NLG assembly. As the employee was pushing the pin with their left hand and pulling it out of the connection hole with their right hand, the NLG assembly released and swung aft, amputating their left middle fingertip.
At about 4:50 p.m. on March 29, 2022, a mail carrier was leaving her truck when she slipped, fell, and hit her head on the sidewalk. The next morning, she woke up with a headache and bleeding from the ear and was hospitalized.
An employee was pulling wire out of a storage tube. The employee slipped on the wire and fell to the concrete floor, suffering a broken right femoral head.
Two employees fell from an access bridge while entering an aircraft to perform maintenance. They landed on the ground about 20 feet below, where one of them lost consciousness. One employee sustained a fractured knee and another employee sustained a back strain/sprain. Both employees were hospitalized.
An employee experienced sharp pain in his lower torso area while loading baggage into the front cargo pit of an aircraft. The employee sustained a hernia.
The injured employee was assisting in the disassembly phase after a radar array had been lowered and secured. The crew began removing load bearing pins from an overhead crane to free the radome. A load bearing pin was stuck. The injured employee went to remove the pin manually as a second team member applied pressure from the opposite side. The pin unexpectedly released and struck the injured employee s right thumb, resulting in partial amputation of the distal phalanx including an open distal phalanx fracture and nail bed laceration.
On September 11, 2025, an employee was lowering a railing system on an aircraft fueling cart when his gloved right ring finger was caught in the folding railing system, resulting in a fingertip amputation that required hospitalization and surgical reattachment.
An employee was working at ground level when an aviation engine cylinder weighing 30 pounds fell from a seven-foot high shelf and struck the employee on the head. The employee suffered a fractured skull and was hospitalized.
An employee was readjusting a safety hook to remove hardware from gang forms when his feet slipped. He fell to the ground, resulting in a broken left arm and wrist.
An employee was on a step ladder in a store aisle, making room on shelving for merchandise. She fell from the step ladder to the floor, suffering two fractures in her left leg. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was closing the side cargo door to a company van. The tip of his finger got caught between the door and the door jamb, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee lost his footing while climbing an inclined ladder. He stumbled down one step and was able to stabilize himself by holding the railing and twisting his body, but he suffered an internal abdominal injury and was hospitalized.