Man attacked US military airplane with hatchet at Shannon Airport this morning

A MAN CLIMBED onto the wing of a US military plane at Shannon Airport this morning and attacked the fuselage and wing with a hatchet. 

The alarm was raised at around 9.45am when a person was observed in a restricted area of the airport.

The person, understood to be male, was seen at a United States Air Force C130 Hercules military transport aircraft that had been parked on a remote taxiway at the airport.

It’s understood that he climbed onto the wing of the aircraft and caused damage to the fuselage with the tool. 

One source said that the damage done to the aircraft was extensive. 

A set of mobile stairs had to be used to reach and detain the man. He was arrested and taken into custody.

Airport police officers carried out a patrol of the airport perimeter in an effort to locate the area where the individual gained access to the facility.

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Airport police officers and Shannon Airport’s own fire and rescue service responded to the incident, as well as gardaí and Irish Defence Forces personnel who were on duty at the airport at the time. 

Additional uniformed gardaí and armed detectives, as well as members of the Garda Armed Support Unit, also attended the incident. 

The airport was closed for under thirty minutes following the security breach. Operations have since resumed. 

Two departing flights were slightly delayed while one arriving aircraft from Lourdes was placed in a holding pattern after the crew was advised by air traffic controllers of a security breach at the airport. About 20 minutes later the aircraft was cleared for its approach and landed at 10.22am

A spokesperson for Shannon Airport Group has confirmed that Shannon Airport has resumed operations following an incident this morning which required Garda assistance.

“The airport suspended operations at approximately 9.50am and resumed operations at 10.15am,” the spokesperson said. 

An Garda Síochána has been contacted for comment. 

Last November, three people were arrested at Shannon Airport after the van they were travelling in breached airport security and made its way into a restricted area. The vehicle was quickly intercepted by gardaí and armed members of the Defence Forces. Three people are currently before the courts in relation to that incident.

On 1 May last year, Shannon Airport was again closed for a time following a security breach where a van attempted to enter the airport by crashing through a security fence. Three people were detained after they jumped from the van onto a taxiway after it became stuck in a ditch.

A little over two weeks later, a member of An Garda Síochána was hospitalised following another incident at Shannon Airport. Three women were arrested after they allegedly gained access to the airside area of the airport and caused criminal damage to an aircraft.

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