The suspect fell from his wing onto the tarmac as police approached.
It was not a bird or another plane that landed a plane from Las Vegas to Portland, Oregon, before departing Saturday, but a man who entered the wing, according to police and eyewitnesses.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police say police have arrested Alejandro Carlson, 41, after he allegedly boarded a Dormack at McCarran International Airport, boarded an Alaska Airlines flight and somehow climbed one of the wings. The suspect moved the wing about 45 minutes before falling into the tarmac, Erin Evans, who was on the plane, told ABC News.
“This is definitely one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Evans, 50, of Vancouver, Washington.
Evans and police said the crash happened around 1:30 pm local time when the plane was taking a taxi to take off. The LVMPT said the man appeared to have jumped over the airport fence.
Alaska Airlines said in a statement that the pilots of the plane noticed a person running into the plane and immediately called the air traffic control tower for help.
Evans, who filmed the incident and posted it on her Facebook page, said she could not see how the suspect was able to get above the wing, but within minutes he was out her window and walked over to it.
“Our first reaction was, ‘Ush, who is this guy? Is this a terrorist act?'” Evans said.
Air marshals inside the plane instructed passengers to stay in their seats as they and officers tried to pull the man off the wing, Evans says. About 45 minutes later, Evans’ video states that officers went to the wing using emergency exits and approached the suspect.
The man walked towards the edge of the wing and slipped and fell onto the tarmac, where officers quickly arrested him, the video showed.
Evans said he and other passengers were shocked by the incident.
“The flight attendant told me in 30 years that he was a flight attendant and nothing like this had ever happened,” Evans told ABC News.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation responded to the airport security breach, but it was soon determined that the incident was not a federal case, and investigators say LVMPT took Carlson into custody. He was treated for minor injuries at the University Medical Center and was charged with trespassing and neglecting public safety at the Clark County Jail, police said.
Police said an investigation is underway.
Evans praised the flight attendants, airport officials and police for handling the situation.
“Everyone was finally relieved,” he said.