Airline captain smashes parking barrier with an axe after 'hitting breaking point'
An airline pilot in the US was arrested and charged after he used an axe to smash up a car park’s parking arm in a fit of rage.
Kenneth Henderson Jones, 63, was arrested after breaking a parking barrier at Denver International Airport employee parking lot on 2 August.
United Airlines pilot Jones was caught on CCTV footage dressed in his uniform as he approached the barrier at the car park carrying an axe.
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He then began to swing out at the gate’s parking arm more than 20 times before it finally broke off its hinge leaving the exit open.
Jones was then approached by an airport employee who attempted to take the axe from him, prompting a bit of a scuffle to break out.
A second member of staff then approached and helped to wrestle the axe away from Jones.
According to a police report, Jones then ‘ran across the street and behind a building and stayed in a field’ before he was picked up by Denver police.
The report goes on to say, ‘Kenneth started by saying he just hit his breaking point’ and that he was ‘trying to get rid of issues for everyone waiting’.
He told police that each of the parking lot’s three exits had six vehicles queued up behind it.
Airport administrators told CBS that there had been issues at the car park due to people not having the correct permits.
Adams County authorities have charged Jones with misdemeanour criminal mischief and was released later the same day.
He is due to appear in court on 25 September.
Russel Carlton, Corporate Communications Manager for United, told CBS: "He was removed from the schedule and is on leave while United conducts an internal investigation."
According to FAA records, Jones is qualified to fly numerous large passenger planes including Boeing 767s and 757s.
Jones’s outburst comes as lawmakers in the US approved a bill called the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, which included a provision to raise the retirement age for pilots from 65 to 67 due to a major shortage of pilots.
House Transportation Committee Chairman Sam Graves, said: "America has always been the gold standard in aviation, and this bill ensures that we remain the world leader.”
Although the bill passed, the effort to raise the retirement age had been met with some opposition from those who believed it could endanger pilot standards and passenger safety.
Claire Reid