Mystery as airport workers find passenger's BODY inside plane engine at Salt Lake City airport after he used a de-icing pad to climb inside opening by the fans

A passenger wound up dead on New Year's Day after he climbed into the engine of a plane at Salt Lake City International Airport.

The Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) confirmed his death in a statement, writing that the man had perished after he 'accessed an airport de-icing pad and entered an aircraft's engine intake cowling.'

The 30-year-old man has not been publicly identified. Initial investigations show that the engine was not running at the time.

At around 9:52 pm on Monday, a store manager inside the airport contacted dispatchers with the Airport Control Center, according to police.

The manager reported a 'disturbance involving a passenger on the secured side of the terminal.'

A 30-year-old man died after climbing into the engine of a Delta flight at Salt Lake City International Airport

The unidentified passenger passed through an emergency exit before climbing through the cowling, which is the removable cover housing the engine (pictured)

Authorities and airport employees attempted to perform life-saving measures on the man, who died at the scene

The commercial flight was bound for San Francisco and was said to be 'occupied' at the time, according to police

As officers with the Salt Lake City Police Department's Airport Division responded, Airport Control said the man had escaped through an emergency exit door.

Officers and Airport Operations workers began to look for the man and found he had reached the airport's ramp area.

They later discovered the passenger inside 'a wing-mounted engine of an occupied commercial aircraft' bound for San Francisco.

Photos of the scene show law enforcement personnel gathered at the foot of a Delta plane.

SLCPD officers and airport employees tried to remove the man, who was unconscious, through the cowling, which is the removable cover over the engine.

The Salt Lake City Fire Department assisted attempts to revive the man, which proved unsuccessful.

Although airport operations carried on as normal, police say they worked to secure the area and deplane passengers. 

Local and federal officials have launched a death investigation into the circumstances surrounding the man's passing.

The SLCPD is working alongside the Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and Transportation Security Administration.

Officers will work in tandem with the medical examiner’s office to identify the man and notify his family.