Tragic Incident: Man's Death Inside Jet Engine at Salt Lake City Airport

At Salt Lake City International Airport, the man crawled into an aircraft bound for San Francisco. Later thereafter, the flight cancelled.Photo byRick Bowmer/AP/File

The perplexing and tragic incident at Salt Lake City International Airport has sparked an extensive investigation following the death of a 30-year-old man who accessed the secured ramp area and crawled into the engine of a Delta Air Lines jet on Monday night.

Kyler Efinger, identified as the deceased, apparently breached the terminal's security by utilizing an emergency exit, subsequently darting toward the airport's west runway, where deicing operations were in progress. Unexplainably, he crawled into an aircraft engine that was not operational at the time. Emergency responders discovered Efinger unconscious inside the engine and, despite their efforts, were unable to revive him. The exact cause of his death remains undetermined.

Efinger, a Park City, Utah, resident, was in possession of a boarding pass for a flight bound for Denver, as confirmed by the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Delta Air Lines disclosed that Flight 2348, scheduled for departure to San Francisco aboard an Airbus A220, returned to the gate, leading to the deplanation of all 95 passengers due to the unfortunate incident. Subsequently, the flight was cancelled.

The sequence of events leading to Efinger's fatal entry into the engine began when police responded to a disturbance reported by a store manager within the terminal around 10 p.m. Further details regarding the disturbance are under active investigation. Subsequently, Efinger accessed the airport's outdoor ramp area through an emergency exit door.

As the search ensued, a pilot alerted authorities after spotting the individual, leading to the discovery of personal belongings, including clothing and shoes, left on one of the runways. Moments later, dispatchers notified the police that the man had made his way to an aircraft de-icing pad and accessed the engine of a plane.

Responding officers found Efinger unconscious and partially lodged within one of the commercial plane's engines, which were in a state of rotation at the time. Swift actions were taken by law enforcement and airport personnel to extricate Efinger from the engine, initiate lifesaving measures, including CPR, and administer naloxone. Despite their efforts, Efinger succumbed to the situation.

Salt Lake City Police revealed plans for an autopsy to ascertain the cause and manner of Efinger's death, with potential considerations for a toxicology report. Notably, the airport's routine operations remained unaffected by the incident.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are jointly investigating the occurrence alongside the local authorities. The NTSB affirmed its role in gathering information about the event while deferring to the local police to conduct the primary investigation.