Houston, Texas · Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation · NAICS 481111
11inspections
7citation items
$1,163current penalties
Nov 27, 2020last inspection
OSHA has inspected United Airlines 11 times in Texas since 1992.
The latest one began on Nov 27, 2020 after a fatality or catastrophe, in Houston.
Those inspections ended with 7 citation items: 1 serious and 6 other-than-serious.
Penalties were first proposed at $2,125 and now stand at $1,163, 45% lower after settlements or reviews.
Injury and illness log comes up most often in these citations: 2 items under 1904.29.
How that compares: the median penalty per cited inspection for transportation and warehousing employers since 2015 is $2,408, and United Airlines averages $600 (1 cited inspection).
2 inspections on this page followed a fatal incident.
United Airlines also files yearly injury logs with OSHA, summarized below.
It reported 12 severe injuries to OSHA since 2015.
The Wage and Hour Division has 3 cases on it since 2015, with $0 in back wages owed to workers.
Citation items per year, by inspection date.
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Incident on Nov 25, 2020 (fatal): Employee with covid-19 infection dies
At 4:45 p.m. on November 25, 2020, an employee who worked as a ramp service agent for a major airline died from COVID-19. The employee collapsed at work before being discovered in need of assistance. The employer called an ambulance a coworker administered CPR until paramedics arrived and took over. The employee was transported to local hospital and pronounced dead. A rapid COVID-19 was administered by the hospital and returned a positive result. The employee died from COVID-19 with diabetes mellitus as a contributing factor (from medical examiner case: 20-5019). Information regarding engineering, administrative and personal protective equipment controls for COVID-19 are not included in the narrative.
No citations from this inspection.
Inspection 341071462 OPENED NOV 18, 2015Closed
Complaint · Partial · Health · 130 employees at the site · Closed Apr 6, 2016
Incident on Aug 15, 1999 (fatal): Employee dies from heat stroke while loading baggage
On August 15, 1999, Employee #1 was loading baggage from within the storage area (the belly) of the airplane when he had an apparent heat stroke. The temperatur e within the baggage area of the airplane and strenuous work likely contributed to his heat illness, which elevated his body temperature. At an elevated body te mperature, the heat denatured the proteins and destabilized phospholipids and li poproteins of the cells in his body. This resulted in the liquefying of his cell ular membrane and led to cardiovascular collapse, multiorgan failure and eventua lly his death. Emergency medical service personnel was summoned and transported him to the hospital where he died. He was a temporary employee and was hired fou r days prior to the accident.
No citations from this inspection.
Inspection 110366028 OPENED JUL 23, 1992Closed
Complaint · Partial · Safety · 48 employees at the site · Closed Nov 12, 1993
From the Form 300A summaries employers file with OSHA each year. Rate = recordable cases per 100 full-time workers.
In 2022, the Houston site logged 470 recordable injuries or illnesses among about 10,808 workers: 5.0 per 100 full-time workers, against a median of 4.8 for its industry. Those cases cost 10,828 days away from work.
Site and year
Workers
Cases
Days-away cases
Rate
Industry median
6925-Iah
Houston · 2022
10,808
470
214
5.0
4.8
6925-Aus
Austin · 2022
248
18
10
7.9
4.8
6925-Sat
San Antonio · 2022
145
12
4
10.7
4.8
6925-Cgo
Houston · 2022
111
2
1
2.0
4.8
6925-HQS
Houston · 2021
139
0
0
0.0
4.8
6925-HQJ
Houston · 2021
128
9
5
7.4
4.8
IAH - Airport United Airlines Offices
Houston · 2018
10,215
723
297
7.1
4.8
NHC - Airport United Airlines Offices
Houston · 2018
862
8
3
0.9
0.0
Severe injury reports
Employers must report any work-related amputation, in-patient hospitalization or loss of an eye to OSHA within 24 hours. 12 reports on file, the 6 most recent shown.
May 23, 2025, Houston: Hospitalization · multiple severe wounds and internal injuries · multiple trunk locations
An employee turned off a pushback tractor at a gate, put it in neutral, and put the emergency brakes up. The employee then exited the tractor and noticed it was rolling forward toward the aircraft. The right side of his body was wedged between the tractor and the aircraft nose. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs and a partially collapsed lung.
Apr 5, 2025, Houston: Hospitalization · traumatic injuries or exposures unspecified · exterior and musculoskeletal structures of the back unspecified
An employee was reversing a tug into a baggage cart to connect it when the tug did not stop and struck them in the lower trunk area. The employee was hospitalized.
Nov 22, 2024, Houston: Hospitalization · fractures · lower leg(s)
An employee was operating a tug and going around a parked cart when the tug struck the cart, catching their left foot between them. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to their left tibia and fibula.
Sep 20, 2024, Houston: Hospitalization · multiple severe wounds and internal injuries · multiple trunk locations
An employee was operating an aircraft push tractor in reverse to go from one gate to the next. While passing a parked belt loader vehicle, the push tractor and the operator's upper body made contact with the conveyor boom of the parked belt loader vehicle. The employee sustained rib fractures, a non-displaced T5 fracture, a right pneumothorax, a periaortic hematoma, and a sternum fracture. The…
An employee was positioning a tug tractor next to its charging station when her left foot was caught between the tug and a pillar, resulting in a foot fracture.
Aug 20, 2021, Austin: Hospitalization · fractures · lower leg(s)
An employee was driving an airport tug when it ran over chocks. The employee was ejected and the tug ran over his left lower leg, breaking it.
Wage and hour cases
Cases by the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division since 2015: unpaid minimum wage or overtime, child labor, family leave and more.
Period reviewed
Violations
Workers owed
Back wages
Penalties
Mar 1, 2025 to Aug 3, 2026
Houston
1
0
$0
$0
Dec 29, 2016 to Mar 1, 2017
Houston
1
0
$0
$0
May 12, 2015 to Oct 16, 2015
Houston
1
0
$0
$0
The rules behind these citations
Current text from the Code of Federal Regulations. Some citations were issued under older wording.
(b) Implementation—(1) What do I need to do to complete the OSHA 300 Log? You must enter information about your business at the top of the OSHA 300 Log, enter a one or two line description for each recordable injury or illness, and summarize this information on the OSHA 300-A at the end of the year.
29 CFR 1904.29(b)(2)
(2) What do I need to do to complete the OSHA 301 Incident Report? You must complete an OSHA 301 Incident Report form, or an equivalent form, for each recordable injury or illness entered on the OSHA 300 Log.
(3) How do I certify the annual summary? A company executive must certify that he or she has examined the OSHA 300 Log and that he or she reasonably believes, based on his or her knowledge of the process by which the information was recorded, that the annual summary is correct and complete.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA enforcement data. A citation is OSHA's allegation; employers can contest it, and the status column shows where each item stands. Something wrong on this page? Tell us.
