MISSOULA — A routine landing on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at the Missoula airport turned to chaos after a man ran through TSA checkpoints, down a jetway and then tried to gain access to the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines plane.
Justin Seymour is facing felony burglary and aggravated burglary charges following the incident.
An airport security officer heard a TSA agent yelling “Stop him” and “Breach, breach, breach.”
Court documents state Seymour ran through a security checkpoint, down the jetway of the just-landed plane and then tried to get into the plane’s cockpit.
Employees — some of whom were injured by Seymour — blocked him.
Law enforcement quickly detained Seymour who was yelling that he had to get to Estonia and figured it wasn’t that difficult to learn to fly a plane.
Despite the drama, airport officials were able to get things under control quickly.
“Our public safety was right there within probably 60 or 90 seconds, that person was in handcuffs and escorted off the aircraft," said airport director Brian Ellestad.
Ellestad says the plane was delayed more than three hours after the incident.
Seymour is being held on $500,000 for each count he faces in the Missoula jail.
