A 37-year-old man was taken into custody after rushing on to an empty plane parked at a gate at Baton Rouge's Metropolitan airport and barricading himself in the cockpit.
The American Eagle commuter jet had landed in Baton Rouge Tuesday afternoon when Andrew Aleffi, who was inside the gate, rushed past attendants and boarded the aircraft, NBC station WVLA reported. Passengers and crew had already exited and the plane was being refueled and prepped for its next flight when Aleffi boarded.
A law enforcement official told NBC News that the man, who had a ticket and made it through security without incident, tried to communicate with the tower but apparently did not know how to use the radio nor fly the plane.
Power to the plane had been cut off and the aircraft was inoperable.
The man did not have any weapons when he was taken into custody by the Baton Rouge Police and he was not on any no-fly lists.
