Cleaning crew catches intruder on parked plane at California airport, cops say

A cleaning crew aboard an American Airlines jet parked at Los Angeles International Airport early Sunday helped catch an intruder, police in California say.

The man used a pipe to pry open an airport fence so he could squeeze underneath it, then walked across the tarmac and boarded the jet at 4:45 a.m., KABC reported.

Workers cleaning the airliner challenged the 31-year-old intruder and notified airport police, who arrested him, KCBS reported. Airport security reinspected the plane after the incident.

The man, who faces trespassing charges, was taken for a psychiatric evaluation, KABC reported.

“For someone to just walk down there so easily is definitely concerning,” airport visitor Lindsey Weiker told KCBS.

A security breach Aug. 20 at John Wayne Airport in Orange County evacuated part of the airport, McClatchy News reported.

A 51-year-old man was later found hiding in a ceiling inside the airport, officials said. He’d earlier been spotted driving an airport vehicle on the tarmac.

This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 7:14 AM with the headline "Cleaning crew catches intruder on parked plane at California airport, cops say."