Public Safety
Passenger detained after tug taken at John Wayne Airport
Airport officials said the passenger entered the airfield, took an airline tug and crashed it into another vehicle before police stopped him.
A Delta Air Lines passenger was detained Tuesday evening after allegedly entering a restricted airfield area at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana and taking an Alaska Airlines tug, according to airport officials cited by ABC7 and CBS Los Angeles.
Time: About 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 6
Location: Airfield between Gates 12 and 7
Airport impact: Flights briefly paused; overall operations were not affected
Short disruption on the airfield
Officials said the passenger drove the tug across the airfield and struck another vehicle near Gate 7. He then allegedly tried to take an American Airlines lavatory truck before Airport Police Services stopped him.
The Gate 7 area was closed for roughly 10 minutes during the response. Airport officials said flights were briefly halted, but no formal ground stop was issued and the incident did not affect overall airport operations.
Passenger taken for evaluation
The passenger, who had been scheduled to fly from Orange County to Seattle, was taken into custody and transported to a hospital for evaluation. Authorities had not publicly identified him or announced formal charges in the reports available early Wednesday.
Original report: ABC7 Los Angeles →
Additional reporting: CBS Los Angeles →