Delta passenger was waiting for his flight at John Wayne Airport. Then he allegedly steals a tug and tries to hijack an American Airlines sewage truck

A Delta Airlines passenger caused a major scene on the tarmac at John Wayne Airport on Wednesday, leading to a temporary halt of all flight operations, BroBible reported. The incident involved a 26-year-old traveler named Skyler Jay Barr, who was initially scheduled to board a flight to Seattle that evening. Instead of catching his ride, he decided to turn the airport grounds into his personal playground.

The situation kicked off around 5:30 P.M. when Barr allegedly forced his way through an emergency exit near Gate 12. Once he made it onto the restricted side of the terminal, he didn’t waste any time finding a set of wheels. He managed to commandeer a tug, which is a specialized vehicle designed to latch onto landing gear to help maneuver aircraft around the tarmac.

The joyride didn’t last long, though. Barr eventually crashed the tug into a cart, effectively ending his brief stint as an unauthorized ground crew operator. He clearly wasn’t finished with his chaotic itinerary, as he then attempted to hijack an American Airlines sewage truck, which is the vehicle typically used to clear out airplane lavatories. Police were quickly dispatched to the scene to intervene. They successfully detained him.

He is now facing charges for vehicle theft, trespassing, and vandalism

This disruption forced air traffic control to suspend all takeoffs and landings while authorities regained control of the area. Breaches of this nature are a massive deal in the aviation world. Airports rely on layers of security, requiring badges and passcodes to keep the general public away from sensitive operational zones.

When someone manages to bypass these safeguards, it usually triggers a full-scale audit of the airport’s protocols. You can expect that the security measures at John Wayne Airport will be under a microscope following this event.

TSA has been notably easing some restrictions recently, allowing people without tickets to enter certain parts of terminals in some cases. While that has nothing to do with this specific breach of the tarmac, any incident that bypasses security checkpoints is always a point of concern for aviation officials.

Despite the absolute madness unfolding outside, the flight Barr was supposed to be on actually managed to stay on schedule. In a strange twist, the Delta flight to Seattle ended up departing nine minutes early and arrived at its destination 20 minutes ahead of schedule.