Three injured in Tennessee explosion

December 22, 2004
Paraphrased by: Steve Waldrop

Two men were transported by Air Evac to the burn unit at Regional Medical Center in Memphis, after an early morning explosion at Tennessee Aircraft Services.

Authorities say the accident happened around 8:15 a.m.. Employees there were draining fuel from a small plane's fuel tank, located in one of the wings that was detached from the plane, when a fire erupted. At first report it appears that static electricity caused the fire that severely burned two employees and also injured a third person.

The Madison County Sheriff's Department responded to the fire at Tennessee Aircraft Services, at 2313 Technology Center Drive, which is adjacent to the McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport.

The fire grew, and one portion of the facility was heavily damaged, Sheriff David Woolfork said in a news release.

The aircraft facility is made up of two buildings. The shop and office area on the west side was heavily fire damaged. The aircraft hangar side to the east suffered only minor insulation damage, Holmes said.

The fire was under control in about an hour.

Tennessee Aircraft Services is a private business unrelated to the airport.