Man found dead inside plane engine after breaching security at Salt Lake airport

SALT LAKE CITY (KSL.com) — A 30-year-old man was found dead inside an airplane’s engine Monday night at the Salt Lake City International Airport after police say he was able to make his way onto the tarmac.

The investigation began when a store manager contacted the airport’s control center at 9:52 p.m. to report a “disturbance involving a passenger” on the secured side of the airport, according to Salt Lake police. Details on which store and what the passenger was doing were not released.

Salt Lake City police say the man was in the A concourse. After leaving the store, the man used an emergency exit door to access the airfield. That door is equipped with an alarm that immediately notified airport security, according to police.

The man breached a security door at 9:54 p.m. and ran to the south end of the airport’s west runway where de-icing operations were underway, according to a statement from the Salt Lake City Department of Airports.

At the same time, Delta flight 2348 from Salt Lake City to San Francisco — an Airbus A220-100 aircraft — was scheduled to depart at 9:30 p.m. The flight, with 95 passengers, two pilots and three flight attendants on board, was being deiced when police believe the man crawled into the engine area. The engine was not running at the time. Police and airport personnel located the man about 10:10 p.m.

“Emergency personnel responded to the scene and found the man unconscious and were not able to revive him,” airport officials said in a statement. “It is unclear at this time what injuries caused the man’s death, whose name is being withheld upon notification of family members.”

According to a statement from Delta Air Lines, the plane eventually was forced to return to the gate and the flight was canceled because of an individual on the tarmac at the deice pad. Police, however, say after the deceased man was found in the engine area, the passengers were forced to get off the aircraft while it was still on the deicing pad and transported back to the terminal.

The passengers were then rebooked on other flights, according to Delta.

“As nothing is more important than the safety and security of our customers and people, Delta is fully cooperating with all aviation authority and law enforcement investigations,” Delta said in a statement.

The incident is under investigation, and airport officials said they are working with the Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, Salt Lake police and Transportation Security Administration.