SALT LAKE CITY — The family of a Park City man, Kyler Efinger, who suffered a mental health episode and died after accessing the engine of a plane at Salt Lake City International Airport, has filed a lawsuit against Salt Lake City.
According to the lawsuit, officials didn't do enough to aid in the search for Efinger and didn't communicate with pilots about the search until it was too late.
"The notion that an airport was so dangerously designed and operated as to allow this sequence of events generated international attention and shock," the lawsuit states. "Plaintiffs bring this suit to obtain redress for their unfathomable loss and to prevent future tragedies."
Kyler Efinger was at the airport on January 1, 2024, according to the lawsuit. Kyler was scheduled to be on a Delta flight to Denver to visit his grandfather, who was sick.
According to the family, Kyler lived with bipolar disorder and had been diagnosed for ten years. During that time, he would occasionally experience episodes where he became visibly disoriented.
At around 9:00 p.m. that night, the lawsuit claims Kyler started to experience a manic episode and left his gate. Surveillance footage allegedly shows him walking with and speaking with a person at around 9:03 p.m.
Watch: Security video shows moments leading up to Kyler Efinger's death
Lawyers claim Kyler would proceed to walk and run down the moving walkways at the airport several times, including going against the flow of foot traffic.
At 9:28 p.m., Kyler entered the Utah Jazz store near Gate A31. The store's manager reported Kyler acting unusually, so much so that the manager sold him a jersey for less than half price just to hurry the transaction.
Once Kyler left the store, the manager noticed he had left his roller bag. The manager reported the bag and Airport Operations allegedly made two announcements asking for the bag's owner to return to the store.
The store's manager then stated that Kyler returned to the store, this time with no shoes and his shirt half unzipped. The lawsuit says Kyler was yelling at the manager about his bag and demanded his money back for the jersey he had bought.
According to the lawsuit, the manager offered to do a return for Kyler but he would leave, running towards his gate, as the manager prepared to call the airport emergency line.
Lawyers for the Efinger family say the airport didn't take any steps to address Kyler, a ticketed passenger, who was incoherent and agitated.
What followed, according to the lawsuit, was Kyler lying on his stomach on a handrail of the moving walkway and attempting to open doors to the jet bridge. Lawyers claim airport janitorial staff witnessed Kyler doing these actions and briefly spoke to him.
It was about 9:54 p.m. that Kyler allegedly went through an emergency exit door near Gate A4 that led from the Sterile Area of the terminal to the Secure Identification Display Area.
The lawsuit claims the emergency door was not equipped with a delayed egress locking system. That style of door security would delay opening for several seconds and also alert security to the door's movement.
From there, lawyers say Kyler was able to run down some stairs and through a door outside that was also lacking a security system.
The Efinger family's lawyers say that the City's employees didn't know where Kyler had exited and were unable to communicate the information clearly to officers. The lawsuit quotes one officer calling the situation a "wild goose chase."
Audio communications also allegedly show the confusion between dispatchers and officers. At one point, city dispatchers told police that Kyler had exited from a stairwell near Gate A31. However, he had exited closer to Gate A4.
The lawsuit claims it wasn't until 10:02 p.m. that officers were correctly told where Kyler had exited the airport.
While the search was underway, Kyler had made his way onto a runway at the airport and removed his pants and undergarments, leaving him in just a jersey and socks in below-freezing temperatures.
At 10:04 p.m., an employee for the city received a report from a pilot who had seen Kyler on the runway.
At 10:07 p.m., Kyler allegedly reached the deicing area near runway 34L. There, he ran toward an Airbus A220-100 aircraft that had just started its taxi to the runway.
Air traffic control reportedly directed the plane to start its taxi, and the city didn't make air traffic controllers or pilots aware of the disoriented person on the tarmac.
The plane's pilot later stated to investigators that he stopped the plane's engines only after seeing Kyler.
At this point, detectives say Kyler climbed into the plane's engine cowling while the engine was running. His hair, which lawyers say was dreadlocked, was pulled into the engine blades.
The lawsuit is seeking damages, claiming the city breached its duty to Klyer to maintain safe premises, properly monitor security systems, and train airport employees.
The Efinger family is seeking damages of $300,000 and the cost of attorney's fees. They are requesting a jury trial.
