Just before 10 p.m. Monday, 30-year-old Kyler Efinger of Park City breached airport security. Salt Lake City Police said an airport store manager called authorities after seeing Efinger on the secured side of the terminal.
Police said Efinger, a ticketed passenger, went out of an airport emergency exit and ran to the south end of the airport’s west runway.
Officers said they found clothing and shoes on a runway before a pilot spotted Efinger underneath a deicing Delta plane.
Police said Efinger crawled into the plane’s engine intake cowling on the wing. The aircraft’s engines were still rotating.
Salt Lake Police spokesperson Brent Weisberg said authorities found the man unconscious in the engine intake cowling.
“It's that silver band that protects the air blades," he said. "So, he was about halfway in the aircraft engine, but also his lower part of his body was still outside so he wasn't fully inside the engine.”
Responders performed CPR and administered naloxone, which Weisberg said is typically used when a person is suspected of an overdose.
Despite lifesaving efforts, Efinger died on the scene. Authorities have not confirmed what led to his death.
The San Francisco-bound Delta flight was canceled and almost 100 passengers were booked on other flights.
The SLC Department of Airports is working with the SLCPD, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and Transportation Security Administration to investigate the incident.
Other airport operations were not impacted.
