Man breaches security, boards plane being serviced
Owen Roberts International Airport, Grand Cayman
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) has confirmed that on Christmas Day a man managed to breach all of the Owen Roberts International Airport security systems and wander out on to the apron of the airport, where he boarded a plane undergoing maintenance. In a statement CIAA officials confirmed that at around 5:30pm on Tuesday, the man entered the airport customs hall, evaded the security checkpoint, entered the ramp and boarded an aircraft that was parked and undergoing maintenance, which CNS understands was a Cayman Airways plane. But he then managed to escape capture and left the airport.
However, the same man reappeared the following morning, Wednesday, at around 6:40am, according to the CIAA, who said he was immediately recognised and captured by airport security and the RCIPS before entering the terminal.
Officials said that the incident is now under investigation. The police have confirmed he was arrested under the mental health law and taken to the hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
Category: Crime, Health, Mental Health, Police
In defense of “airport security” I shall attempt to explain how the customs and immigration halls work. Airport security do not control who comes or goes or the activities that are conducted within the mentioned halls. Those are controlled respectively by the occupying law enforcement agencies. At the point which a strange man runs full speed out of a door on the airside and security is supposed to catch him mid-stride? Was it reported that there was a tussle with the man? At which point he grabs at his waist says expletive and threatens that no one touch him before running away again. So if customs and immigration both allowed a stranger to walk thru their halls and then get to the airside that is a shame that should be spoken about. The point of this was to educate how it works and not bash on any involved.
512pm too many foreign nationals like you employed at the airport which is a serious concern for both Cayman and the US officials, it just that Cayman is not do anything about it. Until we get a terrorism related incident at or around the ORIA then draconian steps and extreme measures will be taken or use then to address or resolve the problem. We keep reacting to incidents and not preventing them from occurring Cayman. It appear that’s how those incharge want it to be, to justify their continued presence here.
When we have CIAA employees who do not even know how to properly raise our flag what do you honestly expected from them. Our so called leaders have sold us out Cayman!
Even for Absurdistan this is a disgrace. This is what Alden’s obsession with Caymanization gets you.
No bobo you mean foreignization because everywhere all i can see from ticket counters to the very police officer outside is foreign. poor Cayman!!!
11.32am If you want to see Caymanians go to the Govt Admin Bldg, you will find hordes of them there, feet on their desks, ears glued to their cellphones, running their private businesses on taxpayer’s time.
CORRECTION- cess pita- RCIP is one of the places where you would find most of the individuals fitting those criteria, and they ain’t Caymanian bobo. An article was even done highlighting the moonlighting issue sometime ago. And oh, add getting your law degree on the taxpayers dime/time to your list !
#hatetostaybutwontleave.
Correction 2.30pm Most of them are out on patrol, not sitting at their desks and ignoring calls from the public. Call the police # and it is always answered. As for law degrees that is a requirement for promotion to the top ranks. Civil servants have been doing this for decades to save getting bored, except they get their degrees from Florida backwater colleges that no-one has ever heard of apart from Government.
Don’t make me laugh you can count the Caymanians at the airport on one hand!
Follow the money.
Another reason not to fly.
So you take boat everywhere?
Very scary for something like this to occur. Happy there were no bad consequences due to the lack of security procedures currently in place. Not pointing fingers but the outcome could have been a lot worst and I hope the powers to be implement the right security policies to ensure air travel is safe. We got lucky this time considering what was reported that the individual was mentally ill. What if he wasn’t and intended to do harm? I recalled recently there was a meeting about the birds, dogs, cats and iguanas on the runway and now for this to happen, scary!
tha woodie or what? he boarded and managed to start an engine in early 80’s over in brac…
Lack of information and lack of knowledge is just utterly sad..
always looking for the wrong people to blame .. that man could have never evaded the security checkpoint in that manner ,those with common sense and those that actually knows how inside of that airport operates should know you can’t even get pass the control area without a valid pass much less get outside if he entered from the checkpoint.. unless you are staff with a valid I.d (lmao)
you people act as if employees make the rules ,how ridiculous. Get the facts straight before you start pointing figures and putting a bad image on the wrong people.. if the expats are doing such a bad job why don’t you people apply and do a better job?
I wonder if the government realize that if these security breaches continue that the FAA could stop CAL from flying into the USA .
But he entered from customs entrance not CALs, Soo your point being?
Just can’t make this stuff up man. Wonderland stories!
Well suited per the time of year I say!
Did the culprit have a red suit and a white beard ?
The present CIAA Chief of Security resigned two weeks ago. Story is that he was summoned to Governor’s office then abruptly resigned. Note, the CIAA reports directly to the Governor on all aviation security matters. Could this relate to the poor assessment CIAA received in the last UK security audit earlier this year. Sad, just a short 5 years ago Cayman Islands was at the top of aviation security performance of all UK Overseas Territories.
CNS – perhaps you can find out more?
this is not surprising at all.
Flowers employees acting like they are checking movie tickets.
I hope that the Government don’t push this under the rug because of friendship, because it would come back and bite them in the pocketbook and everywhere else.
Next to go should be Albert Anderson. No need to elaborate.
What about the whole CIAA Finance dept which cannot keep a decent employee past a month. Headed by a Jamaican with no Management skills but yet job is never advertised & contract renewed without question.
Cayman airways is rediculas. You notice they only hire Caymanians now; or if your black or Spanish and “look Caymanian”. Mean while the security company that works the airport are hiring all Filipinos and Indians. Caymankind.
Nice spelling, chosen one!
Not sure what this has to do with the story….oh FYI Cayman Airways doesn’t own the airport
4.09pm the only thing Cayman Airways owns is debt.
What airline doesn’t have debt? Give me one, ever read a balance sheet
12.11pm You must be a little short between the ears. I said “the ONLY thing they own is debt”, that is the difference.They have no assets and would not be in business if it were not for the tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer subsidies they receive each year. Of course commercial airlines around the world have debt, but they also have substantial assets and make a profit, otherwise they would not be in business.
Racist diversity is still racists.
The biggest security threat is the fact that many of the people who examine luggage and ultimately decide what can and cannot be allowed on the plane is oftentimes an individual who is paid $6 per hour and who has been on the island for less than 6 months.
Because time-spent, or salary on Grand Cayman somehow relates to TSA competency? Let’s stop the misguided prejudices in 2019 please.
Because of security clearance numbnuts. The fact that someone is happy to take the job for $6 per hour makes the people who are ultimately responsible for the security ignore the fact that any crazy-ass individual could go to work there and let a “friend” take anything through security.
Proper security checks would also eliminate a lot of Caymanians from working there.
In all major U.S. airports they conduct random checks of the TSA security lines by planting banned items in hand luggage going through security and many items including loaded handguns are not identified. I suppose we never have these checks here as nobody can keep their mouth shut.
https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_7485558?ec_carp=4290676696330772207
Every time I arrive at ORIA I see security staff sitting on the air-side playing on their phones. It makes it easy to understand how this could happen.
Hire this man! and get his advise on how to upgrade the security at the airport.
Fire! Who is hired there now.
This is a really serious breach of security. This person could have easily planted a bomb aboard any of the airlines. Imagine the devastating consequences of that. This would never happen in the US or the U.K. I know nothing is 100% but to gain such easy access which should be high security this day and age is appalling.
Bombs are usually planted by governments to keep the people in a state of fear. The rest of us would not know where to begin.
The biggest bomb planters in the world are Mossad. Remember 9/11?
11:06 What did Mossad have to do with 9/11?
Well said @ 11:06 am.
9/11 one of the biggest inside jobs to date!
No, this would never happen in the US…
https://6abc.com/half-naked-man-causes-disturbance-at-atlanta-airport/3661915/
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2018/08/27/lax-runway-arrest/
https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/09/18/teterboro-security-breach/
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/man-accused-of-running-onto-santa-fe-airport-runway/article_be51038a-fb48-53b8-ae61-d6899aa9de1d.html
https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2018/07/11/police-investigating-2nd-breach-of-atlanta-airport.html
https://abc13.com/man-jumps-on-baggage-belt-crawls-to-tarmac/2613475/
Look into the horizon air plane jacking my friend
650 million people fly every year in the U.S. Do a little statistical math for us and repost….
…and what ethnicity or race do they all seem to be…
Really? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46712041
Duhhh
And yet the security check point think they are doing a great job by literally going through the credit cards in your wallet. They really need to focus on the big risks and let go of their small tasks. Don’t even get me started on them refusing to just have a stack of bins so you can start placing your items in a bin while waiting in line. They say they need to see what you put in the bin. Hello! That is what the xray machine does.
Oh they are a special bunch for sure.
Those jokers are what makes fling so stressful. Yes, checking an EMPTY container and then not allowing you to take it with you????? EMPTY that used to have water in it….
Please do not let me get started. They take everything out of your bag and wallet and then don’t put anything back!
That’s scary , but using Christmas day is no excuse. Someone should have to answer for that .
Hahahahahahahahahahahanahahhana…….this speaks volumes about Cayman
10:08pm, filled to capacity with 3rd world security, that are being exploited by their EMPLOYERS (low minimum wage), which the locals cannot work for? What does the government has to say? Scrap the lodge!!!
What on earth does the lodge have to do with this?
The Masonic Lodge Brothers keeps incompetent Masonic Lodge Brothers employed and we pay the bill for invompetence.
That explains what Lodge (of all types) has yo do with it.
Way to turn into this into a Cayman bashing issue. Because these breaches haven’t happened in other places in the world. The biggest story this year is the horizon airline ground worker in Seattle who took a dash 8 q 400 on a joyride and paid the ultimate price. This guy was a qualified airport personnel and had unrestricted access. So seems to me airport security needs to improve worldwide. Try to contribute something useful if your gonna talk.
10.27am your tale is akin to the government employee here who took a customer’s sport car for a joyride , smashed it up and could very easily have killed another motorist, in the process. This guy was a qualified vehicle examiner and had (and still has) unrestricted access to customer vehicles.
Like you said 10.27pm that guy had UNRESTRICTED access, this guy here didn’t have ANY right of access!!!
FAA could actually cancel CAL landing rights in USA on this news. CIAA need to kick ass, fire people, and lock this *%#% down, like it matters!
Probably not the FAA, more likely Homeland Security but you are right it’s a real risk.
caymanians don’t do accountability…
Except that security breaches like this happen in major airports in the US more often than you think…
Thank you, somebody with sense
Or the fact that the TSA fails most undercover test. Safety is an illusion and any system can be breached.
Good old cayman Scareways
Why blame Cayman Airways? He could have easily entered the other planes on the tarmac. Why he chose Cayman Airways, we don’t know..As far as I am aware the airport provides several layers of security before the tarmac which is done through the Airports Authority, not the airlines..
Presumably the CAL plane was the only one with a ramp/stairs at the time.
Obviously this instance has nothing to do with the security screening staff whatever we each may think of them.
Anyone with a decent level of intelligence can see numerous ways to breach security whether to access a plane or carry something nasty aboard; but that same level of intelligence means that such a person keeps the ideas to themselves and doesn’t publicise them.
Good way to get ORIA on the US Homeland Security blacklist. What bothers me is this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. I can remember a while back airport staff were caught jumping the fence on Crewe Road and cutting across the runway to get to work.
6:30 The version I heard was that there was a hole in the fence they could get through.
LOL
8:12 That fence is a joke!