Mom of airport worker killed after being sucked into plane engine insists his death was an accident

The mother of an airport worker who was killed when he was sucked into a jet engine has denied that his death was a suicide.

David Renner died on June 23 at San Antonio International Airport after he allegedly handed his supervisor a suicide note wrapped in a $1 bill and 'jumped' into the jet engine.

Facebook/David Renner

The 27-year-old's grieving mother, Courtney McDowell, has now demanded to see the note in question.

Whilst McDowell concedes that her son had discussed suicide previously, she claims that he insisted he would never 'do that to her'.

McDowell, who lives in Indiana, says that she lost Renner's younger sibling during childbirth, hence why he couldn't have ended his life.

This is despite the fact that the coroner's office and authorities have both ruled his death as a suicide.

"He was little when it happened, but he remembers how it affected me and he said, 'I will never do that to you mom cause I know how much it will hurt you'," she told the Daily Mail.

She believes that Renner's death was accidental.

McDowell said: "I believe that David wasn't paying attention maybe and he got in the way. I believe it was an accident.

"Everybody gets depressed sometimes, and he had said to me that he thought about killing himself, but he said 'right mom, I know we've talked about that before, but I want you to know I will never do that to myself' because I've already lost a son.

"David had a big heart, he would help anyone. He loved making people laugh and had an infectious smile."

Unifi Aviation, where Renner worked, echoed the coroner's verdict of suicide when they released a statement following his tragic death.

KENS 5

Their statement read: "We are heartbroken and grieving the loss of an aviation family member's life in San Antonio.

"Our hearts and full support are with their family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time.

"From our initial investigation, this incident was unrelated to Unifi’s operational processes, safety procedures and policies. Out of respect for the deceased, we will not be sharing any additional information.

"While police and other officials continue to investigate this incident, we defer to them on providing further details."

Renner's younger brother acknowledged that his brother had a difficult life and had struggled with his mental health: "David is one of many others that suffer with mental illness and it’s not always very clear to us to see."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.

You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.