Person dies after falling into aircraft engine at Schiphol Airport

One person died after becoming trapped in the engine of a passenger plane shortly before it was due to take off from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when a KLM Cityhopper flight was pushed back from its gate in the busy terminal, a source in the Dutch military police told the Telegraph.

“Today an incident occurred at Schiphol in which a person got caught in a running aircraft engine,” Dutch airline KLM said in a statement.

“Sadly, the person has died,” it said, without revealing the victim’s identity.

On Wednesday evening, as part of the initial investigation into this highly unusual death, investigators began to examine whether it was a possible suicide.

The plane, bound for Billund in Denmark, was full of passengers when the body fell into the rotating turbine blades of the engine.

Due to the tragedy of the incident, the passengers were taken off the plane almost immediately and offered assistance.

They are being questioned because they are among the best placed to provide information about the person’s death, said a spokesman for the Dutch military police, which is responsible for security at the airport.

“This afternoon, an incident occurred on the Schiphol platform in which a person fell into a running aircraft engine and died,” the Marechaussee agency added in a statement.

“All passengers and staff on the affected flight have been evacuated and are being cared for.”

The jet in question was an Embraer, which is used by KLM on short-haul routes such as London.

A picture released by public broadcaster NOS showed the plane surrounded by fire engines and ambulances next to the terminal.

The Dutch Security Agency has sent three investigators to Schiphol, NOS reported.

In addition, the Ministry of Labor dispatched workplace inspectors to determine whether this was an industrial accident.

Schiphol Airport wrote on X: “Our thoughts are with the relatives and we express our condolences to the passengers and colleagues who witnessed this.”

Schiphol has strict security measures in place and accidents are rare at the busy airport, which, according to airport figures, handled around 5.5 million passengers last month alone.

The airport, ten kilometres from Amsterdam, is the third largest in Europe.