Cars crash gate, race around field at Birmingham airport

By JAY REEVES
The Associated Press
11/20/02 5:46 PM

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Two cars crashed through a locked gate at Birmingham International Airport and raced across a runway and taxiways Wednesday before ramming another locked gate to escape.

The vehicles never came close to the terminal or any aircraft, and the cars -- a black Cadillac and a white sedan, possibly an Accura -- were gone before police could catch them. No arrests were made.

Air traffic controllers and ground workers watched the incident in amazement.

"They went pretty much in all directions all over the airfield," said Patty Howell, a spokeswoman for the airport authority.

The airport was closed for 15 minutes during the breach, and the Federal Aviation Administration said an incoming flight was delayed about 30 minutes. One or two departing flights were delayed briefly.

There were unconfirmed reports that gunshots were fired, but no shell casings were found.

Estimates on the length of the episode ranged from less than two minutes to 15 minutes.

"It was enough time to bust through (the gate), spin out, and bust out on the other side," said police Sgt. Roy Bowden. "They were chasing each other."

The cars slammed into a gate at Pemco Aeroplex Inc., which refurbishes military aircraft, about 1 p.m. and zoomed across a runway. The vehicles exited by ramming through a gate at a corporate hangar on the opposite side of the field.

"They blasted through it," said officer Robert Miller. "It is a very heavy metal gate and they bent it into an 'S."'

The cars were last seen leaving the area on a busy street that parallels the main runway. Soldiers from an Alabama Air National Guard unit secured the gate by the corporate hangar until police could arrive from the other side of the airfield.

Miller said witnesses saw one person in each car, but it was unclear whether anyone got a description of the drivers or license plate numbers. He said there was no reason to believe terrorism was involved.

Airport officials say agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations are investigating the incident as a "serious security breach."

Knowing the area where this happened, I would say more than likely this was either gang- or freelance pharmaceuticals-related.

Speaking of the airport, a few years back a pilot who graduated from Alabama was trying to land. He and his Bama grad co-pilot struggled mightily to bring the plane down on the runway, and after a near dive approach and locking up the brakes in a cloud of burning rubber, managed to land with only the nosewheel off the edge of the paving. The co-pilot looked at the captain and said, "Good grief, that runway shore wuz short!!" The pilot replied, "Yep, and the funny thing is that it's a mile wide!"

Thanks everyone! Thank you--you're a beautiful audience! (Surely you didn't think I had forgotten about the Alabama Joke Week of Wittitude!?)
posted by Terry at 9:04:00 AM