A man managed to break through a perimeter fence at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and get onboard an American Airlines plane that was parked nearby early on Sunday morning according to airport police.
The man allegedly used a metal pipe to pry up the bottom of the security fence and then slid underneath onto the airfield. At around 4:45 am, the man walked onto a parked American Airlines aircraft in what would appear to be a major security breach.
A cleaning crew was, however, on the same aircraft and quickly spotted the unwanted visitor. Airport police say the cleaning crew held the man down until law enforcement arrived and took him into custody.
It wasn’t clear what the man’s motives were. Police say the suspect was homeless and after being arrested on suspicion of trespassing, he was detained for psychiatric evaluation.
American Airlines said the aircraft has been reinspected by its security teams and was cleared to fly.
The security breach is the second in little more than two months after a driver crashed through a gate at the airport and led police on a chase across two active runways that were being used by planes to take off and land.
The June 24 incident saw a man drive a gray Mazda hatchback onto the tarmac with the words ‘SOS’ written in large letters across its hood. The man was eventually stopped and detained close to a private jet terminal at the airport.
Photo Credit: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock.com
