SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man died Monday after he breached a security door and crawled into the engine of a passenger jet at Salt Lake City International Airport, authorities said.
According to a news release from the Salt Lake City Police Department, the man was identified as Kyler Efinger, 30, of Park City, KSL-TV reported. He was a ticketed passenger who was traveling from Salt Lake City to Denver, according to KSTU-TV.
Efinger was found unconscious inside the cowling of the engine before he was pronounced dead, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. His cause of death has not been determined.
Family of man killed after climbing into a plane engine at SLC Airport says their son struggled with mental health issues for years, but don't know what caused incident. https://t.co/cRmU5ZZcl8
— FOX 13 News Utah (@fox13) January 3, 2024
Police said that a manager of one of the stores at the airport contacted the Airport Control Center at about 9:52 p.m. MST on Monday to report a “disturbance involving a passenger” on the secured side of the terminal, the Tribune reported.
Four minutes later, the manager reported that Efinger had left through one of the terminal’s emergency exit doors, according to the newspaper.
Airport employees searching for the man discovered that Efinger had accessed the airport’s ramp area, ran to the south end of a west runway and crawled into the engine of a jet, according to KSTU.
At 10:08 p.m., officers arrived to find Efinger partially inside the intake cowling of one of the aircraft’s wing-mounted engines, the Tribune reported. Police originally said the aircraft’s engines were not running but later said that they were rotating when Efinger was found, according to the newspaper.
“The specific stage of engine operation remains under investigation,” police said in a news release.
Police said the plane was loaded with passengers at the time of the incident, but was parked atop a de-icing pad, the Tribune reported.
Passengers were taken off the jet where Efinger was found, according to the newspaper.
“This incident did not impact the overall operation to the airport,” police said in the news release.
The aircraft impacted was a Delta flight that was preparing to depart to San Francisco, KSTU reported. There were 95 passengers, three flight attendants and two pilots on board, according to the television station.
Delta said that the flight was canceled and passengers were rebooked on other flights.
“As nothing is more important than the safety and security of our customers and people, Delta is fully cooperating with all aviation authority and law enforcement investigations,” the air carrier said in a statement.
An investigation is ongoing.
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