<\/p>\n
David Monroe, director of San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology at Port San Antonio, was killed in an accident at the Boeing Center while moving a jet engine Sept. 19. He\u2019s shown here in 2021.<\/p>\n
Kin Man Hui\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n
Federal safety regulators are investigating the accident that killed a\u00a0San Antonio inventor<\/a> and entrepreneur a week ago at Port San Antonio.<\/p>\n The Occupational Safety and Health Administration<\/a>, which tracks workplace safety incidents, this week opened an investigation into the death of\u00a0David\u00a0Monroe, who was killed in the incident on a loading dock at Boeing Center at Tech Port.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n According to police, the 72-year-old founder and CEO of the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology<\/a> was helping a colleague move a jet engine when the dolly it was on apparently got away from them. The rolling dolly and 5,000-pound engine knocked\u00a0Monroe off a 4-foot dock outside the center, then the engine fell onto him.<\/p>\n OSHA records show Monroe\u2019s was the first work-related death at Port San Antonio since the agency\u2019s online records began in 2011.<\/p>\n The exterior of Boeing Center at Tech Port is seen in November. An eminent inventor\u2019s accidental death at the center last week is now under investigation by federal safety regulators.<\/p>\n Christopher Lee\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n FROM 2021: <\/strong>David Monroe\u2019s Foxworks fueling innovation at Port San Antonio<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n According to the agency\u2019s guidelines, the museum\u00a0Monroe led is responsible for a safety program to prevent accidents. It requires inspecting job sites, materials and equipment; ensuring equipment is safe; properly training employees; and providing personal protective equipment.<\/p>\n Industry standards also detail the importance of having trained people and the right equipment to move heavy machinery such as jet engines. Such heavy loads are supposed to be strapped down or otherwise secured when being moved. \u00a0<\/p>\n Cliff Zintgraff<\/a>, the museum\u2019s chief learning officer and interim head, declined to comment about the accident or the museum\u2019s safety protocols.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re focused on David\u2019s impact and legacy,\u201d he said. \u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Monroe, a prolific inventor, is credited with creating the cellphone camera. He also held key roles at\u00a0Datapoint, a San Antonio company that in the 1970s helped develop an early personal computer, and won more than 50\u00a0patents covering microcomputer processors, wireless networks\u00a0and other electronics.\u00a0<\/p>\n The museum he founded has several\u00a0facilities on Port San Antonio<\/a> in addition to its space in the Boeing Center known as Area 21. According to\u00a0Zintgraff, it\u2019s in the process of setting up a \u201chistory center\u201d in a former gym near the Boeing Center. He wouldn\u2019t say where Monroe was moving the engine or which exhibit it was part of. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A Port San Antonio official referred questions about the mishap to the museum and the hospitality firm that manages the Boeing Center. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n