Security footage shows the final moments of a man who died after climbing into the engine of a plane at Salt Lake City International Airport.
Video showed Kyler Efinger, 30, who died on January 1, breached airport security, burst through an emergency exit and then ran down the runway without shoes.
His body was later discovered in “a wing-mounted engine of an occupied commercial airliner” en route to San Francisco.
Police administered CPR and naloxone, a drug used to reverse an opioid overdose, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Efinger was scheduled to fly from Utah to Denver, Colorado to visit his ailing grandfather before suffering the unspecified episode. FOX 13 reported. His family suspects the incident stemmed from a separate mental health crisis.
Kyler Efinger, 30, breached security at Salt Lake City International Airport before boarding a plane engine and dying on January 1. CCTV footage shows Efinger ran to a closed gate door, tried to open it and then started hitting a nearby gate with his shoes. window
Another airport security camera caught Efinger kicking open an emergency exit door and running down a stairwell
Efinger somehow made it to the tarmac, with video from a thermal imaging camera showing him approaching a slowly taxiing Delta Airlines plane. He runs towards the plane, but the video cuts out before he reaches it
On New Year’s Day around 9:52 p.m., an airport store manager contacted Airport Control Center dispatchers to report a “disruption involving a passenger on the secure side of the terminal.”
Airport security later told officers from the Salt Lake City Police Department’s (SLCPD) Airport Division that the man had escaped through an emergency exit.
Newly released CCTV footage shows Efinger running to a closed door at gate A2, wearing only his socks, with his shoes in hand, and attempting to open the door.
Evinger then speaks to an apparent custodian before running away and attempting to open a locked door at Gate A1. He is seen pulling on the door handle before falling to the floor.
He gets back up and pulls the lever again, before running to a window next to the door and hitting it with his shoes. Then he runs away again.
Another airport security camera caught Efinger kicking open an emergency exit door and running down a stairwell.
Efinger somehow made it to the tarmac, with video from a thermal imaging camera showing him approaching a slowly taxiing Delta Airlines plane. He runs towards the plane, but the video cuts out before he reaches it.
His father Judd Efinger told FOX 13 he spoke to his “manic” son the night of the fatal incident.
Judd said: “He got held up by security, missed his flight and those phone calls, I just knew it was coming. They call it the manic phase. They just don’t end well for him. This is clearly the worst ever.”
Kyler Efinger died after climbing into the engine of a Delta flight at Salt Lake City International Airport
Authorities and airport workers attempted life-saving measures on Efinger, including administering naloxone, but he died at the scene.
The commercial flight was en route to San Francisco and was said to be ‘busy’ at the time
Efinger passed through an emergency exit before climbing through the hood, the removable hood that houses the engine (shown in a stock photo)
Previously released photos from the scene showed lEnforcement personnel gathered at the base of the aircraft.
SLCPD officers and airport workers attempted to remove Efinger, who was found unconscious, through the hood, the removable cover over the engine.
The Salt Lake City Fire Department assisted in efforts to revive the man, including administering naloxone, but the efforts proved unsuccessful.
“Based on the officers’ training and experience and their observations, they believed there were some indications that the use of naloxone may have been appropriate,” an SLCPD report said. KSL TV.
Efinger’s personal items, including clothing and his shoes, were found on an airstrip.
Although airport operations continued as usual after the incident, police said they were working to secure the area and remove passengers from the plane.
Local and federal officials have launched a death investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. The cause of his death has not yet been released.