A man who scaled a fence at Los Angeles International Airport and ran out onto the runway as a Delta flight prepared for takeoff was detained by police Monday evening.
The incident happened at about 2 p.m. when the man scaled a fence near Lincoln and Sepulveda boulevards in the northernmost part of the airport. Police officers quickly apprehended the man on runway 24-left, arrested him and placed him in a police car.
“Airport Police observed a male scale the outer perimeter fence at Lincoln near Sepulveda,” said Rob Pedregon, public information officer for Los Angeles Airport Police. “Units converged on the man who approached a Delta aircraft staging for departure. Airport Police have taken him into custody and are conducting an investigation.”
The man was identified as Luis Aguilar, 23, of Los Angeles, and he was charged with trespassing in the incident, police said.
Comedian Chad Ridgely, who was on the Delta flight preparing to leave, said on Twitter the man started doing pushups on the runway before he was handcuffed.
Other photos taken by passengers at the terminal showed about 10 police cruisers converged on the man. Video showed the Delta plane had stopped as it began to taxi toward the runway.
Aguilar is homeless and has mental health issues, police told Los Angeles ABC station KABC.
ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.
