Delairo Koonce, 35, was seen by officers at around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday parking his pickup truck near the parking garage at the Omaha Airport in Nebraska. The Omaha World-Herald reports officers said he screaming that "people were trying to kill him," and that the man may have been under the influence of drugs. Police said they tried to calm him down, but he was paranoid and ran towards the garage.
Koonce ran toward the front area of the airport before disappearing into the night and climbing a fence, police said. He took off his pants and shirt and got into a Southwest Airlines pickup in only his boxers, police added.
Officers said they chased Koonce as he headed under a jet bridge and ended up driving into the nose gear of a Southwest Airlines plane that was set to leave for Las Vegas. According to the World-Herald, the "plane’s nose gear was flattened" and a few passengers, and the pilot, suffered minor injuries from the accident.
Beth and Tom Lantry, who were flying to Denver, told NBC News that they "felt a big jolt" while David Postier said he "heard a loud boom and crash." Koonce suffered injuries after he was cut from the barbs on the fence and hit his head on the windshield of the truck during the crash.
He was arrested on charges of felony destruction of property and vehicle theft.
Read more at the Omaha World-Herald.
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