It's tough to understand how anyone would put themselves in the position this ramp agent did. How distracted or impaired would someone need to be to make an error of this magnitude?
I'm curious how many days this aircraft was operating with the APU deferred? We've all seen airlines use the MEL "can be inoperative up to XX days" as a goal, rather than a short-term dispatch tool. While it may not have made a difference in this case, I think there should be a hard look at changing the APU deferral category from C to B. This would allow airlines to maintain schedule integrity when an APU breaks, but limit the risk to ground personnel.
We've seen some ramp agents are either poorly selected for hiring, poorly trained, or can't remember their training when it matters. Why not cut down the potential exposure to this hazard?
No one in this industry should leave their family in the morning, and never come home from work. RIP Courtney.
If you haven't yet, please consider making a donation to Courtney's family, as a show of solidarity with our industry brothers and sisters who perform so many essential tasks that allow us to serve our passengers. Unlike us, none of them are ever thanked by our passengers.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/courtney-...term=undefined