Alejandro Carlson proceeded to remove his shoes and socks and refused to leave the wing for 45 minutes. Photo / Julio Rivera, Unsplash; @ErinInWA
Alejandro Carlson proceeded to remove his shoes and socks and refused to leave the wing for 45 minutes. Photo / Julio Rivera, Unsplash; @ErinInWA
"WTH did I just witness?" asked passenger Erin Evans, as she filmed a man appear on the wing of the Boeing 737.
Police at Las Vegas Airport arrested a man who climbed on the wing of a departing Alaska Airlines plane on Saturday. Having taken shoes and socks off theintruder climbed aboard flight 1367 to Portland and would not be removed for almost an hour.
Worried passengers could do little but stay onboard the aircraft and watch. "Did he open the door? How did he get out there?," asks one concerned traveller, in footage of the incident shared to Twitter. Sat watching passengers through the portholes on the plane's left side, Evans told ABC it was "definitely one of the strangest things I've ever seen in my life."
According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Alejandro Carlson boarded the plane wing after trespassing on the airport runway. He would not be removed and remained there for 45 minutes, reported ABC News, until he fell onto the runway. Alaska Airlines released a statement following the incident, saying their "guests and employees are safe and we are working with law enforcement. The plane returned to the gate for a full inspection."
The statement made to USA Today said "the pilot noticed an individual advancing towards the aircraft. The pilots notified the tower. Law enforcement was dispatched and [they were] able to apprehend the individual."
An investigation following the incident showed he had scaled a 2-metre fence and crossed two active runways before being spotted by the plane's captain.
Carlson was treated for injuries sustained during the incident at the Southern Nevada University Medical Centre before being held by the Clark County Jail on charges of trespass and endangering public safety.
A spokesperson for Las Vegas McCarran Airport told local news station KVVU only one other airplane was affected during the incident, and no other planes were diverted.
