December 8, 2014
By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter
A worker for a Boeing supplier has died from injuries caused when a passenger-seat air-bag inflater accidentally discharged during installation on the Everett flight line last month.
Ken Otto, a technician for Jamco America, which supplies Boeing with aircraft interiors, died Sunday, said Jamco spokeswoman Shelley Rich.
Otto and a technician from another supplier were injured Nov. 13 while working on a passenger seat inside a 777 passenger jet being prepared for delivery.
An air-bag inflater discharged and hit Otto violently in the face, according to people familiar with the details. Air bags, a safety device common in cars, are installed on relatively few airliner seats.