A contractor was killed when an airplane tire exploded at John Wayne Airport late Tuesday night, an airport official confirmed.
The incident occurred about 11:20 p.m. as two contractors were working in an airline workshop near terminal 3, airport spokesperson Deanne Thompson confirmed.
The contractors were working on a 4-foot-tall tire that was not attached to an airplane when it ruptured and exploded.
The impact from the explosion caused traumatic injuries to one of the contractors, according to Thompson.
That contractor, identified by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department as 37-year-old Brandon Allison from Fullerton, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The second contractor was not injured in the incident.
The cause of the explosion is under investigation.