Man breaches security, drives fuel truck around tarmac at Worcester Airport

WORCESTER, Mass. — How was a man able to breach airport security at Worcester's airport and drive around the tarmac in a fuel truck before authorities were able to catch up with him?

A 31-year-old Leominster man gained access to the airfield then drove a fuel truck around the tarmac at Worcester Regional Airport Wednesday at 6:24 p.m, State Police said in a news release.

Troopers reportedly found the man sitting inside a fuselage shell used for firefighter training with "a black material smeared on his face" and "speaking incoherently," the release said.

State Police said after talking to the man, it appeared to them that he was having a mental health issue. EMTs were called and determined he wasn't a threat to himself or others but recommended he have a mental health evaluation.

The man's car was later found parked near an airport building, next to a pickup truck that police believe he broke into. A metal detector allegedly stolen from the truck was later found nearby, along with a "spilled bucket of tar," which police said appeared to be the same substance found smeared on his face.

An investigation indicated the incident was not terrorism-related, officials said.

The man, who police are not identifying, was charged with trespassing, breaking and entering, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and malicious destruction of property. He was held on $1,000 cash bail.

A spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, the agency that operates the airport, said the incident did not cause any "operational impacts," and ended quickly.

Cox Media Group