Harrowing last moments of man who jumped into jet engine revealed as video shows how he ran past ground crew and threw himself into turbine
Andrea Russo, 35, from Calcinate near Bergamo, who was not a passenger or staff member at Milan Bergamo Airport, entered the terminal in his red Fiat 500 car before abandoning the vehicle and running into the building on Tuesday morning.
Russo 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 on to the tarmac and 'throwing himself into one of the two turbofans' on the Volotea Airbus A319 flight V73511 from Milan to Asturias.
New footage showed the moment he took his own life. Russo was seen jogging towards the plane's starboard side, and jumping at the side of the jet engine.
Failing to gain purchase, he fell backwards and quickly got up as ground staff chased him.
He appeared to take a wide berth of the front of the starboard engine, but was seen taking a running leap towards the port side engine.
As he jumped into the engine's blades, ground staff were seen holding their heads in horror.
The man's body fell lifeless to the floor as one airport worker was seen holding her hands to her face in shock.
Passengers onboard the Asturias-bound plane revealed how terrifying it was to witness the incident.
One Spanish passenger on board at the time of the incident told La Nueva España: 'Suddenly, we heard a noise and a bang.
'Some people saw something through the window and put their hands to their heads. They told us it was best not to look out, because what was happening was very unpleasant.'
The woman, from Llanera in Asturias, described how the plane had just repositioned on a reserve runway and was taxiing slowly toward the take-off strip.
'We don't know exactly what happened,' she said.
Moments later, the pilot addressed the passengers in a 'shaken' voice, informing them that there had been a 'very serious problem involving a person.'
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.
As he jumped into the engine's blades, ground staff were seen holding their heads in horror
Police sources said the man had a history of 'drug problems'.
A witness to the horrific incident told Italian news outlet la Repubblica that he saw the man running away from a steward and towards the aircraft.
'I wasn't on that plane, I was boarding another plane next to it and we saw everything', he said.
'He ran towards the right side. The he ran and [was] sucked by the left side motor.'
'I can't describe it as pleasant', he added.
The plane, which has engines that can spin at nearly 15,000 rotations per minute, 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 following the 'fatal accident'.
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, with air traffic later resuming.
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.'
Flightradar24 data shows flight V73511 from Milan to Asturias was on the move for only one minute and 55 seconds before the accident occurred
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.
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