The family of a man experiencing a mental health crisis, who died after climbing into the engine of a taxiing aircraft at Salt Lake City International Airport, has filed a lawsuit against the city. The legal action alleges critical failures in the police search and airport security directly contributed to the preventable tragedy.
A Tragic Sequence of Events
On 1 January 2024, 30-year-old Kyler Efinger breached airport security and entered the engine of a running plane, suffering fatal blunt-force head trauma. Efinger, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder approximately a decade prior, was at the airport to fly to Denver, Colorado, to visit his unwell grandfather.
According to the lawsuit filed by his parents, Judd and Lisa Efinger, their son began experiencing a 'visible mental health episode' around 9pm. He left his gate, pacing erratically on moving walkways. His behaviour, described in court documents as 'objectively unusual for an adult', escalated when he entered a store, purchased a jersey erratically, and forgot his bag.
After the store manager called airport staff, Efinger returned, allegedly lashing out before running away again. Surveillance footage then captured him trying to force open locked jet-bridge doors, falling dramatically, and beating his shoe against a window—all in view of a janitorial staff member.
Systemic Failures and a 'Wild Goose Chase'
The lawsuit contends that at approximately 9.54pm, Efinger accessed the airfield through an emergency exit door that lacked a delayed egress system, allowing immediate exit. 'Nothing could stop a visibly disoriented person from freely accessing the tarmac,' the filing states.
It is the subsequent police response that the family labels 'wholly ineffective'. The suit claims communication breakdowns led to officers being given incorrect information about Efinger's whereabouts twice. One officer involved reportedly described the chaotic operation as a 'wild goose chase', wasting precious minutes.
By 10.04pm, a pilot spotted Efinger near the runway. Just three minutes later, he had reached a deicing pad roughly a mile from the terminal, where he ran towards a taxiing aircraft and climbed into its engine.
A Quest for Accountability and Change
Police and airport staff pulled Efinger from the engine, handcuffed him, and attempted resuscitation, but their efforts were unsuccessful. His parents' lawsuit asserts that if the initial seven-minute search had been effective, and he had been found just 30 seconds earlier, he might still be alive.
The Salt Lake City Police Department's own timeline, released a day after the incident, notes that officers were alerted to a disturbance at 9.52pm and told Efinger had exited onto the airfield by 9.56pm. The pilot sighting occurred at 10.04pm, with Efinger found unconscious in the still-rotating engine at 10.08pm.
Judd and Lisa Efinger are seeking $300,000 in damages and have requested a jury trial. The case highlights profound questions about procedures for handling individuals in mental health distress in secure public transport environments and the coordination of emergency responses.
