Electrocution of MacArthur worker probed by state

State labor investigators on Thursday joined a probe into the death a day earlier of a Long Island MacArthur Airport worker electrocuted while working on a runway, officials said.

The state Public Employee Safety and Health bureau, a division of the state Labor Department, confirmed it had begun an investigation into the death of Michael Jakob, 51, of Bohemia, but declined to comment.

Suffolk police had begun the probe Wednesday.

Jakob, a MacArthur maintenance mechanic who had worked for 18 years at the Ronkonkoma airfield, died at about 2:50 p.m. Wednesday after he was electrocuted while working on runway lights, Suffolk police said.

Another airport worker, Gino Fiermonte, 49, of Ronkonkoma, also was electrocuted when he tried to help Jakob, police said.

Fiermonte, a maintenance mechanic, was treated at Stony Brook University Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

An update on his condition was not available on Thursday.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified of the fatality, police said. But the matter was referred to the state because the men were not federal employees.

Attempts to reach the families of Jakob and Fiermonte were unsuccessful.

Jakob's death is believed to be the first of a MacArthur Airport worker since the facility opened in 1943.

Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter, airport Commissioner Shelley LaRose-Arken and a grief counselor met with airport employees Thursday morning, a town spokeswoman said.

Islip officials in a statement Wednesday night said they were "deeply saddened by this tragic accident."

Runway 6/24 was temporarily closed following the incident and reopened late Wednesday night, Islip officials said. The closure did not affect flights into or out of the airport.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.