The death of an American Airlines worker who was killed on a Texas tarmac has been ruled an accident caused by an out-of-control machine – and not suicide as first suggested by a cooperate investigator.
Michal Ingraham, 37, died on April 20 at the Austin-Bergstrom Airport in Austin, Texas, after a machine he was driving crashed into a jet bridge at Barbara Jordan Terminal.
Police believe the aircraft towing vehicle Ingraham rapidly sped up and veered off course – and that the accelerator appeared to be broken.
As police investigated his death, American Airlines hired its own corporate investigator who asserted Ingraham may have killed himself. A report obtained by the American-Statesman of Austin said Lynn Fast – the investigator – suggested he died by suicide a day after the death.
Fast, according to the report, had allegedly talked with Ingraham’s father who apologized for the situation, which Fast found ‘strange.’
Michal Ingraham (pictured) died on April 20 at the Austin-Bergstrom Airport in Texas after a machine he was driving crashed into a jet bridge at Barbara Jordan Terminal
As police investigated his death, American Airlines hired its own corporate investigator who asserted Ingraham may have killed himself after feeling suicidal
According to the report, Ingraham’s towing vehicle crashed into jet bridge near Gate 24 and he was pronounced dead 15 minutes after police arrived.
During her initial investigation, Fast told cops Ingraham may have tried to kill himself after speaking with Ingraham’s father who apologized for the ordeal.
Fast told police on April 21 that he had ‘obtained information overnight indicating that the fatal incident was a suicide and not an accident,’ according to a report.
Police ultimately dismissed the investigator’s claims.
Witnesses had told cops Ingraham’s vehicle had actually ‘accelerated faster than normal and then veered to the right’ before the fatal crash.
They said that agents nearby were yelling at him to brake, but the accelerator appeared to be stuck in the seconds leading to the collision.
As a result, Ingraham was pinned between the vehicle and the underside of the jet bridge, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
His cause of death was listed as blunt force injuries, the report stated.
At the time of the incident, Ingraham did not have any drugs or alcohol in his system, a toxicology report concluded.
According to the report, Ingraham’s towing vehicle crashed into jet bridge near Gate 24 and he was pronounced dead 15 minutes after police arrived. Pictured: Ingraham in a tug
The incident happened at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (pictured) in Austin, Texas
Another shocking revelation came from the Austin paper, which shared that police had received anonymous tips after the collision regarding the safeness of the vehicle.
According to the report cited by the Statesman, the airline’s vehicle he had been driving had been ‘marked out of service numerous times for failed brakes.’
It goes on to assert the tug had ‘several mechanical issues’ leading up to the collision and was kept in circulation despite the mechanical failures.
The anonymous contributor said just 10 days before the crash, the same tug was in another collision due to brake failure.
DailyMail.com reached out to American Airlines for comment on the death and the subsequent investigation but did not receive a response.
Ingraham (was pinned between the vehicle and the underside of the jet bridge, the Austin American-Statesman reported
In a statement to another outlet, a spokesperson for the airline said they are ‘fully cooperating.’
‘We are focused on ensuring that all involved have the support they need during this difficult time,’ an airline spokesperson told the American-Statesman.
According to the Statesman, the company responsible for the maintenance of the vehicles is UK-based Menzies Aviation.
The company has an office in Grapevine, Texas.
Menzies’ role is currently under investigation by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Statesman reported.
