Accidents like the one that killed a contractor at Denver International Airport on Monday are rare despite the hazardous environment, according to industry studies.
A man in his 40s died when he was hit by a high-powered runway-scrubbing vehicle. Authorities did not release his name but said he worked for Rampart Hydro Services based in Coraopolis, Pa.
Company officials declined comment as federal authorities and Denver police investigate.
A study by the U.S. Department of Transportation found that nationally, 11 workers were struck and killed by vehicles on the tarmac from 1985 to 2000. Of those, only two occurred between 1995 and 2000 because of “increased emphasis on ramp safety.”
The man was part of a two-man crew removing rubber skid marks left by landing aircraft off runway 16-left, also known as 34-right.
“Over hundreds of thousands of landings, that rubber builds up, and at some point if it were to get wet you could lose some traction,” airport spokesman Chuck Cannon said.
Cannon said he was told the two men went out in separate vehicles.
The man who died was out of his vehicle and apparently bent down to pick something up. He was hidden from the other driver’s view when he was hit, said Denver Police Department spokesman Detective John White.
Cannon said the sweeper is a large vehicle with a broom 22 to 24 feet long.
Monday’s death is the first of a tarmac employee at DIA since 2001, when Joao Rodrigues died days after he was burned in an explosion while refueling a British Airways jet.
Other employee deaths at DIA include Edward Peters, killed in 2005 by a fire extinguisher that exploded in a United Airlines maintenance hanger; and a fourth man who died in a parking lot at the airport when he fell from a road grader.
Despite that, Cannon said Denver International Airport has a solid safety record.
“I would think that we would be up toward the top,” he said, noting airport-to-airport safety comparisons are not tracked by federal organizations.
The Denver coroner’s office had not positively identified the man late Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-954-1657 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
