WHAT ARE SOME PEOPLE THINKING? When You Need To CATCH A PLANE, We DON'T Suggest Doing It THIS Way With YOUR Car!

Authorities Friday detained a driver who took police on a pursuit down runways in Van Nuys Airport.

The vehicle was maneuvering up and down runways as airplanes were preparing for take-off and landing. At times, the driver was seen with both of his hands up in the air out of the vehicle's sunroof.

The pursuit lasted for about 20 minutes, which included a couple of PIT maneuvers from police. The chase finally came to an end after the driver crashed through a fence.



The driver, and sole occupant of the vehicle, was taken into custody without further incident. His name has not been released.

No injuries were reported.

Airport police told FOX 11's Gigi Graciette that they believe the suspect breached security at a construction site near the airport grounds.

Police said the suspect was rambling about the "federal government" and "Mexican drug cartels."

Authorities believe this may be a mental health issue and said that after the crash, the suspect lifted up his shirt to show the police sergeant evidence of a medical condition that prevented him from laying out on the ground to be arrested.

There was no immediate word on whether flight schedules were impacted.

MDarringer - 11/8/2020 8:24:57 AM

0 Boost

This is an example of when deadly force must be used for public safety. So did the LAPD send their unarmed self-esteem workers?

atc98092 - 11/8/2020 11:05:01 AM

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Van Nuys doesn't have scheduled air service, so no flight schedules were impacted. VNY is a general aviation airport. Based on my information, the chase lasted about 15 minutes, and the airport authority kept the runways closed for another half hour so they could check to ensure the driver hadn't damaged any required infrastructure. The tower didn't report any delays, but only delays exceeding 15 minutes are reported.

MDarringer - 11/8/2020 12:02:34 PM

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So to recap, you're saying it was perfectly OK for this person to do.

atc98092 - 11/8/2020 1:02:41 PM

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I don't believe I said any such thing. Simply commenting on the last sentence of the post, which questioned about any flight schedule delays.

And no, it's not permissible to enter the airport surface areas without ATC clearance. That's our job to ensure the safety of the movement areas.

MDarringer - 11/8/2020 2:24:01 PM

-2 Boost

Then stop making excuses for it.

atc98092 - 11/8/2020 4:52:32 PM

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Excuses? I'm not excusing anything. We had the same thing happen this morning at Coeur d'Alene (COE) airport, and another driver was hauled off to jail. The perfect place for them.

carloslassiter - 11/8/2020 7:52:26 PM

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I was once on a flight to Milan which was delayed because (according to the pilot) there was a dog on the runway.

Darringer: I do not know if they shot the dog.

MDarringer - 11/9/2020 8:16:50 AM

-1 Boost

They should have shot you.

atc98092 - 11/9/2020 8:59:44 AM

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We had a dog interfering with air traffic at Anchorage a few days ago. Yes, it will absolutely delay a flight. An aircraft striking any sort of animal during takeoff is extremely dangerous. Look at what geese did to Sully's aircraft. We had the same thing happen here in Seattle a few days ago, but they only took out one engine and the UPS freighter was able to return to Boeing Field safely.