A person died on Wednesday after being drawn into the rotating turbine blades of a departing passenger aircraft at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, officials reported. The fatality took place on the tarmac outside the bustling terminal as a KLM flight was preparing to leave for Billund, Denmark.
An… incident took place at Schiphol today during which a person ended up in a running aircraft engine,” Dutch flagship carrier KLM said in a statement.
The aircraft involved is a short-haul Embraer jet, utilized by KLM’s Cityhopper service
Dutch border police, who are responsible for security at the Netherlands’ largest airport, said passengers were removed from the plane and an investigation was opened.
The plane involved is a short-haul Embraer jet, used by KLM’s Cityhopper service which operates flights to other nearby destinations like London, Dutch news reports said.
A picture posted on the NOS public broadcaster showed the plane surrounded by fire trucks and ambulances next to the departure terminals. Safety and security measures are strict at Schiphol and accidents are rare at the busy airport, which handled around 5.5 million passengers last month alone, according to airport figures.