‘Mentally ill’ man scales Mumbai airport wall to ‘see planes’

MUMBAI: In a major security breach, a man scaled the perimeter wall of the Mumbai airport and strolled unstopped onto a taxiway where he walked under the belly of a SpiceJet Boeing 737 aircraft that was awaiting its turn to enter the runway for departure for Bengaluru on Thursday afternoon.
In a video clip taken from the cockpit of another aircraft, the intruder can be seen catching a close glimpse of the SpiceJet aircraft engine and undercarriage.Even as pilots of other aircraft lined up for take-off watched the intruder’s incredible saunter—at one point, he raises both arms triumphantly—a yellow airport jeep stops in front of the SpiceJet aircraft with personnel seated inside, monitoring his moves. The security personnel probably didn’t alight from the vehicle to avoid getting close to the aircraft engine. The intruder then walked away towards the tail end of the aircraft where he was apprehended by security personnel who were tailing him in the jeep.
No CISF spokesperson was not available for comment. A spokesperson for Mumbai International Airport Ltd did not comment.
A senior CISF source said that the man scaled the wall around 1.40pm and was apprehended at 1.42pm. “He was chased and apprehended and searched thoroughly and nothing objectionable was been found on him. He did not have any identification document on him. He said he had come to the airport to see an aircraft,” said the CISF source. The person was handed over to the local police.
The intruder was a 24-year-old Sion resident, said an airport police officer. “After walking up to the CISF check post, he gave a salute when he was caught. No arrest has been made,” the police said. The police called the youth’s family members and learnt that he was undergoing treatment for a medical condition. He turns troublesome if he does not take his medicines, a family member told the police. “The youth’s family members said last week, he climbed to the roof of a stationed BEST bus in the locality,” said the police.
The CISF source said structures around Mumbai airport are at places higher than its boundary wall. “This has been often raised with the state government. Once somebody jumps in from there, it takes a couple of minutes to get to him or her,” he added. CCTV footage from cameras show that the area between the point where he jumped is about 70 metres from the taxiway.
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