Wow! Since when do they set traffic cones in front of the engines! The engine may not have been 'damaged' but it would have had to be completely inspected and that would have put it out of order for days or weeks I'm positive. You can't just suck shit through a turbo fan and go on flying (safely). Yes, technically you can do it.

Hapless birdlies' do it every day somewhere, zor....In turbine terminology it's called BASH (Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard) and on average about 65% of bird strikes cause little or no damage. A whole flock can seriously flock-up an engine though...

Looks like pilot ill-communication with ground crew or careless pilot-Guy on the ground probably didn't know the engine was about to be fired-up-There was after-all a cone in front of the right turbine already. He was cautious not to walk directly into the front of that thing, as entire humans have been sucked-into jet turbines in the history of their use...some have survived even after being spit-out the other side I've heard (though I don't believe it).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unXNdrtf2_g

Other side of the plane has a cone directly in front of it and another not so far out. Right side, guy walking along is kicking two pylons and one gets sucked into the engine it looks like to me.

Not sure I see the point in sticking cones right up against the engines...you're not really creating a barrier. Unless it's just a way for them to make sure the plane isn't or hasn't moved forward.