Florida Airport Placed on Lockdown Following Security Breach

The airport was placed on lockdown until about 7 a.m. All flights at the airport were suspended for about five hours, and two flights were delayed during the lockdown.

• By Jessica Davis
• Sep 21, 2018

Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Fla., was placed on lockdown early Thursday after an overnight incident where a suspect allegedly hopped a fence, entered a maintenance hangar and boarded a vacant American Airlines Airbus. The investigation is being overseen by the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

The suspect, a 22-year-old student pilot, was tackled by two airport employees as he entered the plane’s cockpit at about 2 a.m., according to authorities. One man held the suspect down while the other called the Melbourne Airport Police, said Lori Booker, spokeswoman for the aiport.

"There was a security breach," Booker said. "Our airport police department responded within two minutes."

The student pilot broke free and ran along the airfield before being taken into custody by two police officers. The man has been charged with a criminal attempt to steal an airplane, as well as a visa violation and criminal trespassing.

The airport was placed on lockdown until about 7 a.m. All flights at the airport were suspended for about five hours, and two flights were delayed during the lockdown.

According to Booker, security training helped officers and staff respond to the breach.

The investigation is being handled by the FBI, one of the members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Authorities are working to determine a motive and whether the incident was isolated, Booker said.