Sao Paulo
Images released by US authorities show the final moments of a man being sucked into an aircraft turbine. Kyler Efinger, 30, died on New Year's Eve after breaking into an airport apron while trying to board a plane that was taking off.
The recording shows Efinger nervous when he realizes he has missed his flight. He tries to use a sneaker to open a door that leads to the track and break a window. He then uses an emergency exit and manages to enter the restricted area of Salt Lake City International Airport in the state of Utah.
The man runs and waves to the plane. As he approaches one of the doors on the left side of the plane, he ends up being sucked in by the engine. The video stops seconds before the incident.
Efinger planned to travel to Denver to visit her ailing grandfather. According to the New York Post, family members believe he was having a mental health crisis. Shortly beforehand, the man had been arrested at a security checkpoint at the airport.
The Delta Airlines Airbus A220100 was in the deicing process at the time of the incident. Efinger's remains were found in the turbine. There were about a hundred passengers on the plane.
Police are investigating possible safety violations in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Transportation Security Administration.
In the United States, more people have died in similar situations in recent years. Last June, a runway worker at San Antonio International Airport in Texas was sucked into the engine of a Delta plane. He was working at the time of the incident.
Previously, on December 31, 2022, an employee at Montgomery Regional Airport, Alabama, was also “swallowed” by an aircraft engine.