SALT LAKE CITY — A man died Monday night after breaking through an airport security door and crawling into a plane engine at Salt Lake City International Airport.
The man was later identified as 30-year-old Kyler Effinger, a Park City resident.
Police revealed that Effinger was a ticketed passenger with a boarding pass for Denver, Colorado. They stated that at 9:52 p.m., a store manager inside the airport reported a disturbance involving a passenger on the secure side of the terminal. Airport management later told officers that a man had passed through the emergency exit door.
Salt Lake City Police said the disturbance that led to the accident remains under investigation.
Watch the full police briefing on the airport incident below:
Airport breach briefing
When officers and staff from the airport began searching for the man, they discovered that he had arrived at the airport ramp area from the emergency exit. The airport explained that Evinger ran to the southern end of the airport's western runway and crawled into the plane's engine.
A timeline released by the Salt Lake City Police Department shows that within minutes, a description of Evinger's clothing as well as updated information on his location were sent to officers.
Shortly after, a pilot reported seeing Evinger, and officers found clothes and shoes on an airport runway.
About 20 minutes later, at 10:08 p.m., officials found Evinger unconscious inside “an engine mounted on the wing of an occupied commercial aircraft on a de-icing platform,” police said.
“The plane’s engines were running,” police said in an updated statement. “The specific phase of engine operation is still under investigation.”
When officers learned Evinger was under the plane, they asked Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers to notify the pilot to shut down the engines, SLCPD said.
Officials worked to remove Effinger from the area and performed life-saving efforts, including CPR and administering naloxone, but he died at the scene.
Although the incident did not affect the airport's overall operations, police said they worked with the airport to unload passengers and secure the area.
Local and federal officials are now investigating, including the Salt Lake City Police Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Security Administration.
The affected Delta plane was headed to San Francisco. There were two pilots, three flight attendants and 95 customers on board.
Delta said the flight was canceled and passengers were rebooked on other flights after the incident.
“Because nothing is more important than the safety and security of our customers and people, Delta is fully cooperating with all aviation and law enforcement investigations,” the statement read.
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