Delta settles lawsuit over maintenance worker’s death

Aldarondo, a 37-year-old Newnan resident, was one of two workers killed in the August 2024 incident, alongside Mirko Marweg, a 58-year-old from Stone Mountain whose family separately pursued legal claims.

Delta employee Caleb Pline, of Griffin, was seriously injured and has filed his own suit against the contractor employer of Aldarondo.

In a recent notice to State Court Judge Veronica Cope, Delta said it would move to permanently dismiss Cruz’s case over Aldarondo’s death “pending execution of a release and presentation of the settlement funds.”

No terms of the settlement were revealed in court filings.

A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the litigation but said “nothing is more important than safety” at Delta.

David Thompson, senior vice president of Delta TechOps, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview last fall that his team had spent an “incredible amount of time” understanding the incident.

“We implemented quite a few enhancements that we learned out of that event,” he said. “And as challenging as that has been ... it’s been uniquely building to our team to see that we embraced what we could in terms of learning and implementing changes and improvements.”

Cruz’s attorney, Shelly Huff, declined to comment on the litigation. She said the explosion had “shattered” Aldarondo’s family, which “continues to work to put the pieces of their lives back together.”

Cruz had accused Delta of exposing Aldarondo, a contractor, to hazards in its TechOps facility and failing to ensure employees and contractors were properly trained and were using safety precautions while servicing aircraft wheels and tires.

In case filings, Delta denied responsibility for Aldarondo’s death, adding the company “family continues to grieve the death and injury of their colleague.”

About a month before Cruz sued Delta, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration imposed the maximum penalty — a $16,550 citation — against the airline. The agency found Delta “failed to ensure that adequate aircraft tire deflation procedures were developed and implemented.”

Delta’s initial attempt to end Cruz’s suit in favor of a workers’ compensation case was rejected by the Gwinnett judge in July. Later that month, Delta again asked the judge to dismiss the case and impose all related costs against Cruz.

The settlement comes as Aldarondo’s estate administrator and his employer, Delta contractor Launch Technical Workforce Solutions, are separately being sued by Pline over his “catastrophic, permanent and grave injuries” in the explosion.

Pline’s suit, filed in February in Fulton County State Court, alleges Aldarondo was negligent when disassembling a pressurized Delta aircraft tire and wheel, causing it to explode. Pline claims Launch is vicariously liable for Aldarondo’s conduct.

Pline’s lawyers and a spokesperson for Launch did not immediately respond Thursday to questions about that case. Cruz and Launch have not yet responded in court to Pline’s lawsuit.

Other lawyers separately representing some of Marweg’s family did not immediately confirm Thursday if they have filed, or still plan to file, an associated lawsuit. They said shortly after Marweg’s death that he had worked in Delta’s TechOps paint shop for almost 20 years and was working an extra shift the day of the explosion.

Marweg’s stepson, Andre Coleman, declined to comment Thursday.

In its initial bid to end Cruz’s lawsuit, Delta said the explosion was the first fatal incident at its TechOps facility. The airline said Aldarondo was servicing aircraft wheels under its direction and pursuant to its methods, policies and procedures.

--Staff writer Emma Hurt contributed to this article.