Charlotte airport plans safety upgrades after death of baggage handler
Charlotte Douglas International Airport plans to upgrade light fixtures on its tarmac following the August death of baggage handler Kendrick Hudson, the airport told the Observer Thursday.
It’s the first changes that have been announced for CLT in the wake of Hudson’s death.
Hudson, 24, was an employee of Piedmont Airlines, a regional subsidiary of American Airlines. He died in August after the baggage tug he was driving overturned. Police say he swerved to avoid a piece of luggage on the tarmac.
Piedmont workers say they had raised concerns about lighting on the tarmac months before Hudson’s death. Union Vice President Donielle Prophete said the ramp near Concourse E was so dark that agents called it “death valley.”
The city-owned airport commissioned a lighting study from Charlotte firm AME Consulting Engineers last year, and received the results in early January.
According to the airport, the lighting study determined lighting was “not insufficient but could be improved in some areas.”
Charlotte Douglas airport will begin testing new light fixtures in March to make sure the new lights won’t create a “threat to aircraft movement or safety on the ramp,” the airport said in a statement.
After those tests are complete, the city’s Aviation Department will begin fully replacing older lights. The airport will install higher intensity light fixtures at all concourses built before 2018, according to the statement.
The airport said in the statement that it has committed to holding bi-annual town halls for all aviation and airport partner employees.
The lighting study, which was released Thursday, cost $27,300. The airport has not indicated how much it will have to spend to make lighting changes.
Study results
The study shows illumination around Concourse B, D and E is lower than recommended.
The study compared actual illuminance to the Illuminating Engineering Society study on airport lighting. That study recommends an average illuminance of 2 foot candles — a measurement of light intensity that evaluates how much light reaches a given surface.
Instead, the lighting study showed an average illuminance in foot candles of 1.85 for Concourse B, 1.56 for Concourse D/E, and 1.72 for Concourse E.
A map of lighting of some gates at Concourse E included in the study showed that in some areas, the measured foot candles were as high as 3.8 and in others, as low as 0.5.
State investigation
The North Carolina Department of Labor had been investigating Hudson’s death since August. The department released its findings Wednesday, citing Piedmont Airlines with a penalty of $19,600.
The Department of Labor cited Piedmont for three violations: not all employees were wearing seat belts during department inspections, no evaluations of tug operators were being conducted and tugs were not examined or inspected after each shift.
“We are currently reviewing the information provided, and will use it to work with the city of Charlotte, the airport and our labor groups to continually increase the level of workplace safety for our team members,” American Airlines said in a statement.
The Department of Labor also recommended that Piedmont Airlines perform a lighting study around the area, including “especially dark” areas like the E Concourse.
The airport was not cited in the state’s findings.
“The Aviation Department stands ready to assist our partners in any way we can to expand a culture of safety and the safety layers at CLT,” the airport said in a statement.
‘I’m just devastated’
Hudson’s parents, Erika Vernon and Leon Hudson, called for safer working conditions at a news conference at the airport Tuesday.
Vernon and Leon Hudson have filed a lawsuit against American Airlines and the city of Charlotte, alleging that poor lighting on the tarmac contributed to Hudson’s death.
“He was a cheerful person who never met a stranger,” Vernon said Tuesday. “I’m just devastated by all of this.”
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