An Arizona man ran onto the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. on Thursday and slapped a plane.
According to AZ Central, Robert Bump, 49, climbed over an 8-foot barbed wire fence on Thursday evening and ran onto the tarmac and taxi-way, Officer James Holmes, a Phoenix police spokesman said. Luckily control tower employees noticed him.
They called the police and the pilot of a Southwest Airlines plane which was waiting to approach a terminal in the taxi-way was forced to turn off its engine after officials told him about the man.
The man hit the plane's engine with his hands while he was walking toward the terminal. Officials say he might have gotten hurt if the pilot hadn't turned the engine off.
"He's lucky to be alive," Deputy Aviation Director Deborah Ostreicher told AZ Central.
Ostreicher gave credit for the quick response from police and airport employees. They were able to address the situation without causing delays.
"We are one of the busiest airports in the country and world. This kind of thing can happen," Ostreicher said.
Ostreicher said that the airport has good security, but it comes down to the eyes and ears of trained personnel as a last resort.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires airports to have a 6-foot fence around the airport but Phoenix has an 8-9 foot fence.
No passengers were ever in danger.
"You are safe as a traveler," Ostreicher said. "As someone trying to do this, you're in grave danger."
It took just four minutes for officers to reach Bump on the tarmac. Bump appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. However he didn't seem to have a reason for why he entered the tarmac. Bump was arrested for a Class 1 misdemeanor, suspicion of entering a restricted area.
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