Other fall to lower level unspecified · Fractures and soft tissue injuries
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO., 7800 AIRPORT BLVD., HOUSTON, TEXAS 77061
on — Fractures and soft tissue injuries, affecting the Wrist(s).
Final narrative
An employee was instructing an agent on the spacing of an airplane catering truck when she slipped off the front bumper of the truck, extending her arm to brace herself for impact with the pavement. The employee suffered a dislocated and broken wrist with nerve damage.
Hospitalized Wrist(s) Trucks with other mounted machinery, equipment n.e.c.
An employee was handling bags and placing them onto a conveyor belt. The employee's glove was caught by the conveyor belt and their hand was pulled into the belt, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
On June 5, 2025, an employee was walking between baggage carts attached to a tug when the tug began driving forward. The employee was dragged for a short distance and sustained a dislocated shoulder, a displaced fracture to his arm, and a fractured knee with a shattered kneecap.
An employee was performing ramping operations which includes loading/unloading luggage into and out of planes. The employee started cramping due to heat and was hospitalized for dehydration.
An employee had just finished unloading baggage from inside an airliner's cargo bin. The employee exited the bin area, stood up, and then fell to the concrete ground about 4 1/2 feet below. The employee suffered a broken right hip.
A ramp agent was connecting two baggage carts together. His right hand was caught between the tongue of one cart and the receiver of the other cart resulting in a middle fingertip amputation. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was retrieving a Christmas tree from a shelf using a ladder. He missed a step and fell to the concrete floor. He sustained injury to his head and wrist.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
An employee slipped while descending in a stairwell, fell, and suffered multiple contusions/bruises to the head, neck, shoulders, knees, and back. She was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 488190)
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.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.