Chaos as man gets past TSA and tries to enter cockpit after ‘bad people told him to fly the plane’
The 34-year-old told police he didn’t know how to fly the plane, but that it seemed ‘easy enough’ to learn
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A man was arrested at the Missoula Montana Airport after police say he breached the TSA security line and forcibly boarded an Alaska Airlines flight.
Justin Seymour, 34, breached a TSA security checkpoint at the regional airport on October 22 and forced his way onto an Alaska Airlines flight because “bad people” told him to do it, according to local outlet KGVO, which reviewed court documents related to the incident.
After Seymour made his way through the checkpoint, officers yelled, “breach, breach, breach” as both TSA and airport authorities chased him down.
Seymour made his way to Gate A1, where Alaska Airlines Flight 697 had just landed from Seattle. There, another airline employee tried to stop him, KGVO reports, but Seymour pushed her to the ground, causing an injury to her clavicle.
As passengers deplaned, Seymour forced his way onto the aircraft. In the process, one flight attendant injured their hand, a spokesperson for Alaska Airlines told The Independent.
“We appreciate the swift, professional actions of our flight crew during this situation, along with the understanding of our guests who might have been impacted,” the spokesperson said.
The dramatic sequence of events continued when two flight attendants, including the one whose hand was injured, tried to stop Seymour from entering the flight deck. One tried, unsuccessfully, to block him and the other tried to to distract him, per KGVO.
While he was distracted, an attendant tried to secure the cockpit door, but Seymour tried to enter again, and in doing so crushed her hand between the door and frame.
Officers then arrested Seymour, who is being held at the Missoula County Detention Facility. He told police that “bad people” asked him to fly the plane to Seattle, then Estonia, KGVO reports. He also told officers he did not know how to fly a plane, but that it seemed “easy enough to learn.”
Brian Ellestad, director of the Missoula Montana Airport, told The Independent the entire incident — from Seymour breaking through the checkpoint to being arrested by officials — lasted roughly 60 seconds. No airport employees were injured, and TSA officials had their eyes on Seymour throughout the ordeal, Ellestad said.
Seymour now faces felony robbery and burglary charges, each carrying a $500,000 bond, according to the facility’s public records.