Pilot, FA Slightly Injured In The Incident

A man who was acting "bizarre" ... waving his arms and screaming that his life was in danger, managed to scale a security gate at Ohaha's Eppley Airfield airport last Thursday night, and eventually rammed a stolen pickup truck into the nose of a Southwest Airlines jet.

ABC News reports that, according to Tim Conahan, Chief of Police for the Omaha Airport Authority, the man was first noticed by authorities about 9:30 p.m. and they gave chace. He scaled an 8-foot barbed wire fence, got in the Southwest truck that was on the ramp with the engine running, and sped off.

Somewhere along the way, he stripped down to just his boxer shorts.

Authorities said he eventually drove under the jetbridge where passengers were boarding a Southwest jet and hit the nose gear. There were already 18 passengers on the airplane when the impact occurred. 

The pilot got a bump on his knee, and a flight attendant also hit an elbow as a result of the collision. Some luggage was shaken out of the overhead bins by the impact.

Southwest said in a statement that the aircraft was inspected and removed from service, causing about a three-hour delay for the flight to Denver.

The man was arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment of "minor injuries" sustained primarily when he climbed the barbed wire fence. Charges are pending, according to police.

(Image from file. Not incident airplane)

FMI: www.flyoma.com