LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man who ran onto McCarran International Airport property and jumped onto the wing of a jet preparing for take-off told police he had a story to tell the world and thought he could get a bigger audience by getting on the wing of the aircraft, according to his arrest report.
Alejando Carlson, 41, is now facing charges of disregard for the safety of people and property as well as trespassing for the Saturday, Dec. 12 incident which shut down the two main runways for the Las Vegas airport.
After he was taken into custody, he told police officers that he was “mentally ill,” the report said.
Carlson, who accessed McCarran’s property by climbing over a fence, ran across two active runways and then jumped onto the wing of an Alaska Airlines jet preparing to depart Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon. At the time, the plane was in a space between the two runways. There were 72 passengers on that flight, including three Federal Air Marshals.
The report said Carlson endangered the public in three different ways. First, by running across active runways which could have caused landing or departing planes to take evasive action to avoid hitting him. Second, Carlson’s movement immobilized the plane causing a shutdown of the runways and planes having to divert or circle the airspace. Finally, Carlson’s actions could have caused panic among passengers on the plane and possible injuries if people left their seats.
Carlson was taken into custody after he fell off the wing and transported to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries.