The family of a traveler who died after crawling into a Delta Airlines engine is suing Salt Lake City, arguing that his death could have been avoided.
Kyler Effinger, 30, tragically passed away on New Year’s Day 2024 at the Salt Lake City International Airport after entering the turbine of a plane that was preparing for takeoff.
His parents, Judd and Lisa Effinger, contended in their lawsuit that their son exhibited “obvious mental health symptoms” that should have raised concerns before he boarded the plane.
Effinger, a ticketed passenger from Utah, managed to go through two exit doors undetected and reached the tarmac, as mentioned in the legal filing from last Tuesday.
Once on the tarmac, he walked almost a mile to the area where the plane was being de-iced prior to its departure, according to the complaint.
He then accessed the plane’s turbine without any intervention and lost his life, as outlined in the lawsuit.
Documents indicate that he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder a decade prior and occasionally experienced episodes of significant disorientation.
Before climbing into the engine, Effinger reportedly showed “obvious” signs of a mental health crisis. Around 9 p.m., while waiting for a flight to see his ailing grandfather, his behavior turned manic as he paced along the sidewalk.
Less than half an hour later, he entered a Utah Jazz store and exhibited unusual behavior, such that the manager accepted less money than owed for a jersey to speed up the transaction.
After leaving his bag in the store, the manager contacted airport operations.
Effinger then dashed back through the terminal, barefoot and with his shirt half-unzipped, when an airport employee arrived to retrieve his bag, according to the filing.
The manager overheard Effinger shouting about his bag being “held hostage” and expressed that “everything in life was in there.”
He subsequently asked for a refund, which the manager agreed to under the condition he returned the items he had just bought.
As he grew increasingly agitated, the manager and a co-worker felt uncomfortable enough to call airport security, prompting him to run toward Gate A1 without his belongings.
No further actions were taken by airport officials regarding Effinger, who was described as “incoherent” and “agitated,” according to the complaint.
Shortly after 9:52 p.m., he attempted to open the locked door to the jet bridge where the plane was stationed.
Airport management briefly interacted with him afterward but had no observable effect on his actions.
A minute later, Effinger tried to open another locked gate and stumbled during his attempt, falling in a dramatic manner, as the filing describes.
He then allegedly got up and struck a window with his shoe, visible to the manager.
Eventually, he accessed an emergency exit door that connected a secure terminal area to the tarmac, but that door lacked a proper delayed exit lock. The release mechanism took 15 to 20 seconds after activation.
The lawsuit claims that “the City did not maintain any obstacles that would prevent a visibly disoriented person from freely accessing the tarmac, with all its inherent dangers, without being noticed or pursued.”
It also states that Effinger’s actions at the exit door should have alerted city employees about his exact location, but there seemed to be confusion in communication.
Minutes passed before authorities figured out where Effinger had exited onto the tarmac, as noted in the complaint.
Once outside, he removed his pants and underwear, leaving him in just his jersey and socks.
He eventually ran toward an Airbus plane that was beginning to taxi due to the failure of city officials to alert air traffic controllers and pilots about an “unruly person” on the ground.
While climbing into the running engine, the blades caught his dreadlocks.
As noted in court documents, he ultimately died from “blunt head trauma caused by his head being forcibly pulled by the engine blades.”
The pilot noticed Effinger and managed to shut off the engine, but the damage had already been done.
The suit alleges that Effinger would still be alive “if police officers had found him 30 seconds earlier.”
The lawsuit accuses Salt Lake City of inadequate maintenance of facilities and security measures, as well as a failure to inform pilots and ground staff about Effinger’s presence on the tarmac.
The complaint stated, “The idea that the airport was so unsafely designed and operated as to permit this series of events generated international attention and shock.”
Effinger’s parents are seeking more than $300,000 in damages along with a jury trial.
A spokesperson for the Salt Lake City mayor’s office did not respond promptly to inquiries for comment.
