A student pilot is in custody after he allegedly hopped a fence at Orlando Melbourne International Airport and boarded an American Airlines jet that was parked in a maintenance area.
The airport was evacuated, and flights were grounded while law enforcement officials used a robot to search the student’s car, airport spokeswoman Lori Booker said. It reopened just before 7 a.m.
Booker said the student drove to the curb outside the airport around 2 a.m., left his car running, hopped a security fence and boarded the plane.
The student pilot, identified as a 26-year-old man from Trinidad who entered the country via Canada, was spotted boarding the American Airlines Airbus 321 by maintenance workers.
Two maintenance workers called out to the man and then tackled him when he did not respond. Officials said they subdued him until law enforcement arrived.
