Guy Jumps Fence, Strips, Crashes Truck Into Plane

Drugs, not extremism blamed for bizarre Omaha incident
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 26, 2016 6:54 AM CDT
Guy Jumps Fence, Strips, Crashes Truck Into Plane
Eppley Airfield is shown in this file photo.   (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Cops in Omaha believe a suspect they arrested at Eppley Airfield Thursday night was on some very strong drugs, and it's not hard to see why: After parking his truck outside the airport's perimeter and screaming that people were trying to kill him, the man scaled a barbed-wire fence, stripped down to his boxers, got into a pickup truck, and drove into the nose gear of a plane as officers pursued him, the Omaha World-Herald reports. No passengers on the Southwest plane, which had just begun boarding, were hurt, but a pilot sustained a minor knee injury.

Police say the suspect was taken into custody, and there is no sign of links to extremism, reports Reuters. He was treated at a hospital and will be charged with felony destruction of property and vehicle theft. Police say the FBI has been notified of the incident and the NTSB will be conducting its own investigation, NBC reports. The investigation will likely look into, among other things, how the man was able to make off with the Southwest Airlines pickup truck, which he found unlocked and with its engine running outside airlines offices. (More Nebraska stories.)

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