Federal investigators probing freak El Paso accident.

 

El Paso police have identified the airplane mechanic, who was unaccountably sucked into the engine of a Continental Boeing 737 at El Paso International Airport, as 64-year-old Donald Gene Buchanan, the El Paso Times reported on its Web site.

The accident occurred Monday morning as the plane was at the gate boarding passengers for a flight to Houston.

Buchanan worked for Julie's Aircraft Service, which provides service work for Continental Airlines, and he was described by friends and co-workers as an experienced mechanic who was careful about safety procedures, the Times reported.

A spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety Board told the Times that the investigation will examine several things, including whether the engine speed was higher than it should have been during maintenance procedures -- something that could cause more suction in front of the engine, the paper reported.

And Bill Gamble, an air safety investigator from Arlington, Texas, who arrived in El Paso Tuesday to handle the investigation, told the Times the federal probe will involve examining maintenance logs and procedures, backgrounds of maintenance and flight crews and anything else that could be relevant.

Gamble also said the plane's flight recorder, which should have a record of engine speed and power at the time of the accident, has been shipped to Washington, D.C., where its contents will be examined, the Times reported.

The Federal Aviation Administration also will take part in the investigation, which could take up to several months, according to the paper.

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