Very sad news to report from United’s hub in Washington Dulles, where a veteran baggage handler fell from a scissor lift while unloading a Boeing 777. Eduardo Tlatempa, 48, reportedly fell face first onto the tarmac last Friday while performing his normal work duties unloading the jumbo. Co-workers first thought it was an April Fool’s joke, only later to discover the seriousness of the situation. Sadly, he died from his injuries on Sunday April 3.

He had worked at Continental Airlines at Newark for a 15-year stretch before joining United at Dulles five years ago. A United spokesman said an internal investigation is taking place, and added the following:

A photo appears in the source article showing medical workers attending to Mr. Tlatempa, also revealing the aircraft registration as N229UA. According to ACARS data, it appears the inbound flight was United flight number 915 from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, which had blocked into the gate at 2:36pm.

My sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends & co-workers.