United Airlines pilot Kenneth Jones, 63, charged by police over Denver International Airport ax attack on exit gate in staff car park
United Airlines pilot Kenneth Jones, 63, charged by police for an ax attack at Denver International Airport on the exit gate of the staff parking lot
- The video shows him hitting the parking gate 23 times before it flew off its hinges
- The senior pilot was disarmed and arrested by colleagues after an ax attack at the airport
- Airport admits gate problems after Jones told police he was “just at his breaking point.”
A senior airline pilot had “just reached his breaking point” when he launched a protracted ax attack on a parking lot barrier that wouldn’t open.
United Airlines pilot Kenneth Jones, 63, has been suspended by his employers and charged with criminal mischief after flying out of control at Colorado’s Denver International Airport.
Video footage from the airport shows the uniformed pilot walking with long strides towards the barrier in the staff parking lot with an ax he believed to have been in his vehicle.
As open-mouthed motorists watch, he vigorously swings the ax at the gate 23 times until it finally flips out of its hinge, leaving the exit open.
Adams County police deputies say he told them he had “just reached his breaking point” and was “trying to solve the problems for everyone.”
The pilot made 23 strong swings at the gate that enraged him
Authorities at the airport have conceded CBS News Colorado that there was a delay at the gate because many users do not have the correct license.
Jones told police he launched his attack on August 2 after seeing six cars lined up at each of the three exit gates as he tried to leave.
The airport footage shows a man in a high-visibility vest struggling with the pilot in another part of the parking lot before successfully wrestling the ax away from him.
A second man intervenes before police catch up to the pilot in a field near the runway and march him handcuffed to their vehicle.
Jones was caught on camera purposefully marching to the gate at Denver International Airport with the ax brandishing from his right hand
Jones marched off after the gate finally gave way to the blows and flew off its hinges
It took two civilians to disarm the pilot before he was arrested by police and marched off
Jones is qualified to fly some of the largest passenger jets, including Boeing’s 767 and 757.
He has no criminal record in Colorado and the video shows him being released.
But he will appear in Adams County Court on September 25.
“He has been taken off the schedule and is on leave while United conducts an internal investigation,” a spokesman for the airline said.