A man committed suicide by throwing himself into a passenger jet engine at an Italian international airport as a plane prepared to take off this morning.
Andrea Russo, 35, from Calcinate near Bergamo, who was not a passenger or airport staff member at Milan Bergamo Airport, reportedly entered the terminal in his his red Fiat 500 car car before abandoning the vehicle and running into the building.
He arrived at the airport without a ticket and made his way to a restricted area leading to the runway before two Border Police on duty attempted to stop him.
He managed to free himself from the officers before running onto the tarmac and ‘throwing himself into one of the two turbofans’ on the Volotea Airbus A319 flight V73511 from Milan to Austurias.
On the scene, police officers were joined by Flying Squad personnel and specialists within the Bergamo Police Headquarters’ Scientific Unit, who were in charge of the investigations. The prosecutor on duty from the Prosecutor’s Office was also present.
Police sources said the man had a history of ‘drug problems’.
The plane, which has engines that can spin at nearly 15,000 rotations per minute, reportedly completing the ‘pushback’ move to exit the parking area.
Following the incident, airliner Voltea took to X, stating: ‘We regret to confirm flight V73511 from BGY-OVD was involved in an incident at Milan-Bergamo Airport at 10:35h.
‘One person not onboard and not affiliated with the company was seriously injured.
‘All 154 passengers and 6 crew are safe. A new flight is scheduled for 15:55’.
Flights scheduled to arrive at the airport, which is one of Italy’s biggest – were diverted this morning following the ‘fatal accident’.
At 11:50am one flight was diverted to Bologna, two were redirected to Verona, and six were sent to Milan Malpensa.
Eight departing flights were cancelled after operations at the airport were suspended at 10:20am. Air traffic has now resumed.
Sacbo, the operator of the Bergamo airport, said: ‘An incident that occurred on the taxiway, the causes of which are being investigated by law enforcement.’
In an earlier update posted to X, the Lombardy Airports Association wrote: ‘Traffic to and from #orio #Bgy is suspended due to a serious issue on the apron.
‘Possible delays, diversions, and cancellations throughout the morning. Updates will follow’.
According to FlightRadar information, 19 cancellations were recorded from Milan Bergamo Airport before operations resumed.
It comes after a mechanic was last yearsucked into a Boeing passenger jet’s engine and killed at Chabahar Konarak airport in southern Iran after he went to retrieve a tool near the aircraft.
Abolfazl Amiri was doing routine maintenance work on Iranian domestic airline Varesh Airline’s Boeing 737-500 when he was sucked into the engine.
According to local reports from the time, the engine on the right-hand side had been started for a test run with the cover flaps open. A safety area had been set up around the engine as is usually recquired.
But when Amiri realised he had forgotten a tool on the engine, he went back and was sucked in and killed before the engine caught fire.
Amiri’s remains were recovered after the airport fire brigade arrived at the scene.
In 2023, an airport worker who was contracted to Delta was killed after being sucked into an engine on the tarmac of San Antonio International Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed the airline ground crew member, David Renner, died after they went into the engine of a Delta Airlines aircraft. The agency described the worker as being ‘ingested’ into the engine.
It was later revealed he had died by suicide after jumping itno the engine.
Renner was working for a company that Delta contracts with for ground support. An autopsy found he died from blunt and sharp force injuries.
The plane had just arrived from Los Angeles and was taxiing to a gate.
It had just one engine on at the time, when a source briefed on Renner’s death said it appeared he ‘intentionally stepped in front of the live engine.’
The plane remained at the gate the next morning and flights in the airport were delayed.
