Person killed by jet engine at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

A person died at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport when he landed in the running engine of a KLM passenger plane.

The death occurred as flight KL1341 was preparing for departure to Billund, Denmark on Wednesday afternoon.

The airline said it was reaching out to passengers and employees who witnessed the incident and was conducting an investigation.

The Dutch military police also announced that they had launched an investigation.

The Royal Marechaussee added in a post on X that all passengers and staff had been removed from the flight.

The identity of the deceased has not yet been established and it is too early to say whether it was an accident or a form of suicide, a spokesman for the Reuters news agency said.

Various Dutch media have speculated that the victim could be an employee who was busy pushing back an aircraft before takeoff.

Images obtained by Dutch broadcaster NOS show rescue workers surrounding the passenger plane on the airport’s runway where the planes are parked.

According to reports, the aircraft involved was an Embraer short-haul jet used by KLM’s Cityhopper service for flights between nearby destinations within Europe.

Schiphol Airport said: “Our thoughts are with the relatives (of the deceased) and we express our condolences to the passengers and colleagues who saw this.”

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

Schiphol is one of the busiest airports in Europe. Last week it made headlines when rapper Nicki Minaj was arrested there.

Almost 5.5 million passengers used the airport last month, according to its website.

Last year, a 27-year-old airport worker died after being sucked into the engine of a Delta passenger plane in San Antonio, Texas.