Yesterday, July 8, 2025a tragic accident has shaken the community of Bergamo -Ario al Serio airport. A 35 -year -old man, identified as Andrea Russohe would have managed to go beyond the fences of the airport and would have committed suicide by throwing himself into one of the bright engines of an airplane Airbus A319 of the company Voloteaduring the initial stages of plug for take -off towards the Asturies, in Spain. The accident forced the suspension of flights from 10:20 to 12:00, with over 20 suspended or diverted departures.
This tragedy has affected everyone and generated many questions, including: can it be physically possible to be sucked into the engine of a plane? So, without sensationalism and with the utmost respect for what has happened, let’s try to explain how a line engine really works and how much air can aspire, to answer scientific rigor to the questions that many are asking.
How quickly the air enters the engine of an airplane
A turboventola engine like the CFM56-5Bused on the Airbus A319 as that of the Orio al Serio accident, can aspire over 400 kg of air per second at the time of take -off. Means a suction of beyond 330 cubic meters of air per secondenough to “suck” the volume of an Olympic swimming pool in 7.5 second. The numbers increase if we move on to larger engines: with the Ge90 mounted on the Boeing 777 you even go up to almost 1,300 kg of air per secondor about 1,000 cubic meters of air per secondthe equivalent of an Olympic swimming pool every 2-3 seconds.
This huge amount of air enters the front fan, is compressed, mixed with fuel and finally on to produce the push. But the most “aspiring” part is the front fan, which has a diameter of 1.74 meters In the case of the CFM56-5B and can exceed 3 meters in the most modern Wide-Body engines.
In terms of speed, these numbers mean that in front of the fan, the air can move at speeds between 150 km/h When the engine is at a minimum (therefore by plane stopped or during the plush) and 400 km/h with the engine at full power. As soon as the air enters the compressor, the speeds become even more intense. An engine like the CFM56-5b, for example, produces the air flow pressure at the output of the compressor 25 times higher to the one at the entrance. In terms of speed, in the closest points of the compressor the air can overcome Mach 1Meaning what over 1,200 km/h. But the important part to understand the risk of “sucking” is The speed and pressure in front of the engine.
What distance can we be sucked into?
There is no univocal number to indicate the power of the “sucking” of a whirlwind: much depends on the power of the engine, on the speed with which the turbine rotates and its size. In principle we can say that for an engine like that of the Irbus A319 of the tragic accident of Orio al Serio, unless 1 meter Distance from the turbine to a minimum, the speed of the air becomes high enough to seriously risk “rising a person”. For a full power turbine, however, within a radius of approximately 10 foot The aspiration force represents a fatal danger. It is an area where air pressure is so low as to “pull inside” any not anchored object: suitcases, signs, animals and yes, even humans. Here is a reference: at full power, the depression in front of the fan is such that A person can be raised and dragged in a few tenths of second if it is located less than 2-3 meters from the front edge of the engine.
For this reason, a air safety manuals are always reported a “Danger Zone” which varies from nation to nation: in the USA we talk about 4.5-5 meters in front of the engineextended to 7-10 meters during taxi or take-off; In Italy the safety distances are 10 meters, extendable to 15 meters for particularly powerful engines.
Is it really possible to be sucked into? The previous ones
Yes, e unfortunately it has already happened. There are documented accidents in which airport staff members have been sucked into engines in operation, often due to procedural errors or inattention. In a well -known 2006 accident, a technician was sucked into an engine General Electric CF34 on an Embraer Erj-145. The impact was immediate and fatal.
In the case of larger engines, the chances of surviving are practically nulle: The person would be catapulted at an impressive speed towards the blades of the compressor, with fatal and instant consequences.
