An airport ground employee who was tragically killed after he was sucked into the engine of a KLM CityHopper Embraer regional jet at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on Wednesday afternoon is believed to have died by suicide, police say.
The gruesome incident occurred as KLM flight KL1341 to Billund was preparing to depart from the gate at around 2:25 pm on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Dutch Royal Military Police said the victim “intentionally climbed into the engine, indicating this is a case of suicide.” The statement continued: “Out of respect for the victim and their loved ones, no further statements will be made.”
At the time of the incident, passengers had already boarded the aircraft as it was being pushed back from the gate. The airport operator and Dutch flag carrier KLM said it was looking after anyone who witnessed the horrific incident.
Last June, an airport ground worker employed by a third-party grounding company on behalf of Delta Air Lines was ‘ingested’ into the engine of a Delta-operated Airbus A319 at San Antonio International Airport.
The fatal incident occurred as Delta flight DL1111 was taxiing to the gate after just landing in San Antonio from Los Angeles. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded that David Renner, 27, also died by suicide.
A lawsuit was brought against the man’s employer by a woman onboard the aircraft who witnessed as she believes Unifi Aviation should have identified Renner’s mental ill health and prevented him from working close to jet engines.
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