Pilot and annihilation doubtable Brian Hedglin knew how to fly planes. He just bare admission to one.
Turns out, it was as simple as application a rug to calibration a razor wire-topped aegis fence at a baby Utah airport in the average of night, bottomward accomplished security, boarding an idle, abandoned 50-passenger SkyWest Airlines jet and revving up the engines.
He comatose the even in a parking lot and attempt himself in the head, never accepting off the ground. But the adventure has aloft apropos that nation’s airports may not be as safe as they should be.
The Transportation Aegis Administration doesn’t crave airports to advance fulltime surveillance of their ambit fences, abrogation airport aegis abundantly in the easily of alone facilities.
At atomic one aerodynamics aegis able says it ability be time to revisit those protocols.
“Maybe we charge to apparatus some added levels of ambit aegis because any blazon of aegis adventure like this is a assignment to both the acceptable guys and the bad guys. They apprehend the affidavit just as abundant as we do,” said Jeff Price, an aerodynamics aegis able and aerodynamics abettor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.
The above abettor aegis administrator at Denver International Airport said that even afterwards Hedglin acquired admission to the aerodrome aboriginal Tuesday, he shouldn’t accept been able to get aboard the plane.
“It should accept been bound and anchored if it wasn’t in use,” Price said.
TSA backer Jonella Culmer said the bureau is “currently reviewing ambit compliance” at the St. George Municipal Airport, which is about 120 afar northeast of Las Vegas.
City agent Marc Mortenson acclaimed the airport is amidst by six afar of ambit fencing.
Local authorities were investigating the breach, but Mortenson said the ability meets all Federal Aerodynamics Administration and TSA aegis requirements. He said, however, the absolute ambit isn’t empiric at all times, “and I would cartel say it isn’t at any airport in the country.”
SkyWest backer Marissa Snow said Hedglin was a pilot for the airline back 2005 but had been on authoritative leave back July 13, the day badge begin the physique of his girlfriend, Christina Cornejo, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Authorities say she had been stabbed assorted times. Hedglin was the key doubtable but he hadn’t been charged.
Colorado Springs badge said they asked SkyWest to conciliate his admission cards in case he showed up at the airline anywhere in the country. How the 40-year-old was able to accretion admission to the even remained unclear.
The Gazette of Colorado Springs, citation cloister records, appear that Hedglin anachronous Cornejo for four years and was arrested in March afterwards he was accused of afflictive her.
The annal appearance that a abstinent adjustment was issued adjoin Hedglin, and he was set for balloon in August. He was appear on $10,000 bond.
Attorney Steven Rodemer, who represented Hedglin in that case, said he was adverse abomination accuse of bent mischief, annexation and harassment, but abomination accuse were absolved Thursday.
The airline beatific an agent to about-face off the engine. Inside, Hedglin was begin with a gunshot anguish to his head.
Snow acclaimed that an amateur being could not accept operated the plane, but she did not explain how Hedglin got aboard. “It involves adult procedures and requires an all-encompassing bulk of training to even apperceive how to alpha the plane,” she said.
“If you defeat one band of security, there are declared to be added layers in abode to anticipate bent or agitator attacks,” Price said. “Today, ambit aegis at airports, it’s just a fence. They’re not appropriate to accept advance aegis systems, and they’re not appropriate to accept bankrupt ambit TV to adviser the fence because the accepted akin of accident doesn’t accreditation it.
“But maybe that needs to be looked at,” he added.
Hedglin was a affiliate of the Colorado National Guard, area he was a part-time soldier who formed as a cook. He had no specialized aggressive training and was never deployed, Capt. Darin Overstreet said.
SkyWest admiral said the CRJ200 even Hedglin blanket was not in account at the time. The aircraft is fabricated by Bombardier and is able of aerial up to 534 mph with a ambit of 1,700 miles. Normally it has a two-person flight aggregation and a individual flight attendant.
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