Salt Lake City, UT – In a shocking and tragic incident, a 30-year-old man lost his life after accessing an airport deicing pad and crawling into the engine intake cowling of a commercial aircraft at Salt Lake City International Airport. The incident unfolded on Monday night, prompting a swift and comprehensive investigation by local authorities.
According to a statement released by the Salt Lake City Police Department Public Relations Unit, the incident came to light around 9:52 p.m. when a store manager within the airport reported a disturbance involving a passenger on the secured side of the terminal. Shortly before 10 p.m., the store manager called the police to report the disturbance, leading to a rapid response from law enforcement.
As officers arrived at the scene, they received additional information that the man had breached an emergency exit door and was located in the airport’s ramp area. At approximately 10:10 p.m., authorities discovered the individual unconscious inside a wing-mounted engine of a Delta Airbus A220-100, a commercial aircraft bound for San Francisco International Airport (SFO) with passengers on board.
The preliminary investigation indicated that the aircraft’s engines were not operational at the time of the incident. Despite immediate efforts by Salt Lake City Police officers, Airport Operations personnel, and the Salt Lake City Fire Department to administer life-saving measures, the man tragically succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
The identity of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of family members, and the nature of the injuries that led to his death remains unclear at this time.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD), and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are collaborating to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding this distressing event.
The incident involved a Delta Airbus A220-100 flight scheduled to depart from Salt Lake City International Airport for San Francisco. Passengers on board the flight were not directly affected, as the engines were not operational during the incident.
As the investigation unfolds, authorities will work diligently to piece together the sequence of events and understand the factors contributing to this tragic loss of life at Salt Lake International Airport.
