Investigation Underway After Fatal Incident Involving Jet Engine at Milan Bergamo Airport

Authorities in northern Italy are investigating a fatal incident at Milan Bergamo Airport on Tuesday after a man was killed when he was pulled into the engine of a departing aircraft.

The man was neither a passenger nor an airport employee, raising questions about how he was able to access the secure area of the runway.

The incident occurred around 10:20 a.m. local time as an Airbus A319, operated by the low-cost airline Volotea, was taxiing for departure to Asturias in northwestern Spain. According to Italian media, the aircraft had just completed boarding when the man ran onto the tarmac and was drawn into one of the engines.

Operations at the airport were immediately suspended, and flight departures and arrivals were disrupted for nearly two hours. By noon, flight activities resumed. In the interim, at least eight departing flights were canceled, and incoming flights were diverted to other airports, including Bologna, Verona, and Milan Malpensa, according to flight tracking service FlightAware.

A spokesperson for SACBO, the company that manages Milan Bergamo Airport, confirmed the fatality but declined to provide specific details, including how the individual gained access to the restricted area. The identity of the victim has not been publicly released.

According to local reports, including Corriere della Sera and ANSA, preliminary information suggests the individual may have entered the runway with the intent to take his own life. However, officials have not confirmed this theory and have launched a formal investigation into the security breach.

Milan Bergamo is Italy’s third busiest airport, after Rome’s Fiumicino and Milan’s Malpensa. Fatal incidents involving jet engines are rare due to stringent safety protocols in place around airport tarmacs. Still, this case is not without precedent: similar incidents involving unauthorized individuals accessing airport runways have occurred in recent years in Amsterdam and Salt Lake City.

Airport officials said they are fully cooperating with law enforcement and safety regulators as they work to determine the circumstances surrounding the event and assess any necessary changes to security procedures.

Passengers traveling through Milan Bergamo are advised to check with their airlines for potential delays or changes to flight schedules in the aftermath of the incident.

The New York Times, CNN, and CBS News contributed to this report.