Two crew members suffered minor injuries on the Southwest Airlines flight, bound for Denver, as passengers were boarding at 9.30pm local time when the man drove the truck into the plane’s nose gear, said Omaha Airport Authority chief of police Tim Connahan.
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When officers approached, Koonce ran into a parking garage where officers were unable to contain him. Conahan says the man climbed a perimeter fence, and ran into a building area.
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.
Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said Friday that the plane’s nose gear tires were flattened, so another plane flew the 113 passengers to Denver, landing three hours later than originally scheduled. “We all didn’t fall over, but it shook us pretty hard”.
The man is in custody.
Police said there was no suggestion this was a terrorist incident.
He was later transported to Nebraska Medicine due to injuries from the crash. The Omaha Police Department, Eppley Airfield Airport Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Transportation Safety Board, and Transportation Security Administration are collaborating in this investigation.
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The pilot had a bump to the knee while a flight attendant had one on the elbow, ABC reported.
