Man found dead inside jet engine at Salt Lake City International Airport
- Police found 30-year-old man inside engine of a commercial aircraft loaded with passengers
- The man, a ticketed passenger, gained access to tarmac by breaching an emergency exit door
A man was found dead inside a plane engine at Salt Lake City International Airport after police say he breached an emergency exit door, walked onto the tarmac and climbed inside the jet’s engine.
Officers found 30-year-old Kyler Efinger, of Park City, unconscious on Monday night inside an engine mounted to the wing of a commercial aircraft loaded with passengers, the Salt Lake City Police Department announced Tuesday. The plane had been sitting on a de-icing pad, and its engines were rotating.
Efinger was a ticketed passenger with a boarding pass to Denver, police said.
The manager of a store inside the airport had reported a disturbance just before 10pm, telling dispatchers with the Airport Control Centre that he saw a passenger pass through an emergency exit.
Officers quickly found Efinger’s clothing, shoes and other personal items on one of the runways.
After locating him, the officers told air traffic controllers to notify the pilot to shut down the aircraft’s engines. The specific stage of engine operation remains under investigation, police said Tuesday.