Brad Weinhofer, 34 of Northampton was arrested after he allegedly drove a vehicle onto a runway at Lehigh Valley International Airport Friday afternoon.
According to airport officials, Weinhofer somehow breached a security fence and wound up on a runway within 150 feet from an Allegiant airplane as it was taking off. Fortunately, officials say that plane was able to take off without issue and no one was hurt.
Officials say Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority police quickly took the suspect into custody.
The runway remained closed for about 20 minutes.
Weinhofer is being charged with risking a catastrophe, a charge that could bring up to seven years in prison if convicted. He is also charged with reckless endangerment, criminal trespassing and criminal mischief.
According to court documents, Weinhofer was unable to post $50,000 bail. The airport authority says the investigation ongoing. There's still no word on how the suspect was able to allegedly break into the airport or why.
The airport authority has contacted the Federal Aviation Administration to determine how to go about the investigation. We reached out to the FAA and officials there provided no comment, other than to say more information about the incident will come from the airport and local law enforcement.
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