Tragic discovery follows breach of emergency exit and tarmac intrusion.
A 30-year-old man was found dead inside an airplane engine at Salt Lake City International Airport on Monday night. The individual, identified as Kyler Efinger, reportedly breached an emergency exit door, walked onto the tarmac, and climbed inside the jet’s engine.
The Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) revealed that a store manager inside the airport reported a disturbance just before 10 pm, stating that he saw a man pass through the emergency exit. Minutes later, personal items, including shoes and clothing, were discovered on one of the airport’s runways. Subsequently, less than 15 minutes after the initial sighting, Efinger was found unconscious inside the engine intake cowling of a commercial aircraft.
The aircraft was loaded with passengers and was sitting on a de-icing pad at the time. The engine was rotating, although the cause of Efinger’s death remains unclear. Police and airport staff performed CPR, but Efinger was pronounced dead at the scene.
The SLCPD is conducting an investigation into the unusual and tragic incident. Passengers were removed from the plane, which was en route from Salt Lake City to San Francisco, but overall airport operations were not significantly affected.
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The sequence of events, from the breach of the emergency exit to the discovery inside the engine, raises questions about security protocols and how an individual could access the tarmac and climb into an aircraft engine unnoticed. The investigation will likely explore the circumstances leading to this tragic incident at Salt Lake City International Airport.