Person Dies After Being Sucked Into Jet Engine at Airport

An unidentified individual has died after getting caught or falling into the engine of a passenger jet departing from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the main international airport of the Netherlands, on Wednesday afternoon. Authorities have not yet released information on the victim or whether they were a passenger, employee, or someone else on the tarmac.

The KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight had been scheduled to take off for BIllund, Denmark at 2:25 p.m., according to The Sun, when the person somehow became sucked into the engine of the Cityhopper Embraer E190. The aircraft was carrying as many as 104 passengers at the time, and witnesses reported hearing a “hellish noise” followed by plumes of smoke.

“Many people saw it happen,” one witness told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.

The publication also spoke with an unnamed airport employee who claimed to have witnessed the person fall into the engine shortly after the crew had completed the safety instructions. The incident reportedly occurred during pushback, which is when the aircraft is pushed backwards from its parking position at the gate. Per the BBC, the victim may have been be an employee involved in pushing back the plane.

Photos obtained by Dutch media likewise showed emergency services surrounding the plane on the apron, the area of an airport where aircraft are parked.

“A horrific incident occurred today where a person became trapped in the engine of an aircraft,” KLM said in a statement on Wednesday. “Our thoughts are with the loved ones and we care for the passengers and colleagues who witnessed this incident.”

“The Royal Military Police are currently conducting an investigation,” the airport added. Pending the outcome of an investigation, a police spokesperson likewise said that it was too early to determine whether the incident was an accident or a possible death by suicide.

While incidents like this are rare, they are not unprecedented. Earlier his year, employees at Salt Lake City International Airport discovered the body of a man inside a plane engine, though it was not running at the time. Other recent incidents involving employees getting sucked into plan engines on the tarmac include a death in San Antonio last June, and another in Montgomery in December 2022.