(NationalUSNews.com) — On Monday, January 1, a Delta flight from Salt Lake City to San Francisco was cancelled when a man was retrieved from an airplane engine. The man, 30-year-old Kyler Efinger of Park City, Utah, was a ticketed passenger with a boarding pass that indicated his destination was Denver, Colorado. The plane was sitting on the de-icing pad, loaded with about 95 passengers, and the engines were already rotating, ready to take off as soon as the de-icing was completed.
Efinger was reported to dispatchers at the Airport Control Center when he apparently went through an emergency exit. SLCPD officers and Airport Operations employees found his clothing, shoes, and other personal belongings lying on the tarmac. When they located him within the engine, he was unconscious. Emergency personnel attempted to revive him at the scene using CPR and naloxone, which is used to counter drug overdoses. Despite their efforts, Efinger died at the scene.
The investigation is still ongoing, as the cause of his death has not yet been determined. A toxicology report may shed some light on Efinger’s actions, and there may be investigations into airport security to ascertain if there may be ways to prevent non-personnel from accessing sensitive and dangerous areas. Efinger accessed the plane’s engines when he passed through the emergency exit onto a ramp leading up to the engine, which he apparently entered by moving the engine’s removable metal covering.
The strange and tragic incident only caused minor delays at the Salt Lake City International Airport as passengers were deplaned and rebooked onto other flights. While a minor inconvenience for travelers, short delays or cancellations are not uncommon occurrences. Considering the unusual and grave situation, it is remarkable that there was so little disruption in airport operations. A spokesperson for Delta Airlines said that the safety and security of their employees and passengers are of the utmost importance to them and indicated they will be fully cooperating with law enforcement as well as all aviation authorities.
Copyright 2024, NationalUSNews.com
