The parents of a man who died after climbing into a live jet engine at Salt Lake City International Airport filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Salt Lake City late last month.
According to the complaint, the incident was the result of alleged failures in airport security, monitoring and emergency response. The lawsuit was filed in Utah’s Third Judicial District Court and claims the city did not take adequate steps to prevent unauthorized access to the tarmac or to alert air traffic control and pilots that a disoriented individual was on the airfield.
According to the filing, Kyler Efinger, 30, passed through airport security on Jan. 1, 2024 on his way to visit a sick grandparent in Denver. The lawsuit states that Efinger, who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, experienced a manic episode inside the airport, where he exhibited erratic behavior that was observed on surveillance cameras and by airport staff. After multiple interactions inside the concourse, Efinger exited through emergency doors that allegedly lacked delay or tracking systems and made his way onto the tarmac.
The lawsuit contends that airport personnel failed to correctly relay Efinger’s location to police and did not promptly notify air traffic control or nearby pilots of Efinger, who managed to make his way onto airport taxiways and a deicing area.
Efinger climbed into an engine of an Airbus A220-100 while it was taxiing after deicing and died from blunt force trauma before the engines were shut down. The lawsuit claims that if Efinger had been located seconds earlier, the outcome could have been different.
His parents are seeking a jury trial and damages exceeding $300,000. The city told multiple outlets that it will not comment on pending litigation.
