Schiphol Airport: Person killed by jet engine

A person has died at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, after being caught in a running jet engine of a KLM passenger plane.

The death occurred on Wednesday 29 May 2024, in afternoon as the flight was being readied for its trip to Billund, Denmark.

The airline is currently in contact with passengers and employees who witnessed the event. Netherland’s military police have started an investigation of the event.

All passengers and employees were removed from the flight, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee Force added in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The deceased is yet to be identified, and a spokesperson from Reuters News Agency added it was too early to establish whether it was an accident or suicide.

Some Dutch media outlets have suggested that the victim could have been an employee involved in pushing the plane back before it takes off.

Pictures obtained by Dutch national broadcaster NOS depict emergency services surrounding the passenger plane.

According to reports, the aircraft involved was an Embraer jet used for short-haul flights, as part of KLM’s Cityhopper service.

Schiphol Airport issued this statement: “Our thoughts go out to the [deceased’s] relatives, and we care for the passengers and colleagues who saw this.”

Dutch Infrastructure Minister Mark Harbers posted on X: “Terrible news about a fatal accident today at Schiphol.”

Schiphol Airport has recently made headlines in mainstream news outlets, as rapper Nicki Minaj was arrested there last week.

It is one of Europe’s busiest airport hubs, with 5.5 million passengers using the airport last month.

A similar incident occurred last year when a 27-year-old employee was sucked into a Delta passenger plane engine in San Antonio, Texas.

The worker was reportedly “ingested” by the plane which had just landed.

Initially, safety concerns were raised, but a medical examiner called off the investigation after ruling the incident a suicide.

The airport ruled soon after that there were no operational safety issues with the plane or the airport.

A spokesperson from Delta airlines said that the organisation was “heartbroken” to grieve the loss of an “aviation family member’s life.” Delta offered grief counsellors for airport employees.

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