A highly intoxicated Florida man rammed his car through a locked perimeter fence and onto an airport runway, where he attempted to hijack a series of small planes so he could visit his sister some 300 miles away, according to an FBI probable cause affidavit unsealed Friday.
Once Bryan John Parker, 58, reached the tarmac of the Daytona Beach International Airport, he “proceeded to run around, urinate on the taxiway, and approach flight school aircraft,” the affidavit states. It says he then climbed inside “at least two unoccupied small aircraft,” before attempting to “open the door of one running aircraft, yelling at the pilot to ‘go, go, go.’”
Security officers from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, which uses part of the airport for flight instruction, chased Parker down and held him until deputies with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office arrived to arrest him.
“What’s the deal, man?” a deputy asks a handcuffed Parker, according to bodycam video released by authorities.
“I went to an AA meeting, and, uh, the next thing I know, I’m doing cocaine, drinking and smoking pot,” Parker explains in the footage.
He later told the FBI that he “attempted to enter the aircraft so that he could fly away to visit his sister in Sanibel, Florida,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
Parker’s court-appointed lawyer, Aziza Hawthorne, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Around 4:25 p.m. Wednesday, a blue Ford Mustang GT approached an exterior access gate adjacent to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol building at Daytona Beach International, the probable cause affidavit says.
The chain-link fence is topped with barbed wire, is used to keep unauthorized people and vehicles off of the airport’s north runway and taxiways, and, according to the affidavit, has a sign reading: “RESTRICTED AREA. AUTHORIZED VEHICLES ONLY. GATE MUST BE CLOSED AND LOCKED BEFORE YOU LEAVE AREA OR YOU WILL BE SUBJECT TO LOSS OF AIRPORT ACCESS PRIVILEGES AND FEDERAL PENALTIES.”
The Mustang then smashed into the gate, ripping it clean off its hinges, the affidavit continues.
After passing through the gate, investigators say the now-damaged Mustang headed toward the airport’s north runway, which is attached to the Embry Riddle flight school taxiway, and the driver, later identified as Parker, jumped out. He then relieved himself on the taxiway and got into a pair of parked private planes, before dashing off again, the affidavit goes on.
“Parker… chased after aircraft which were occupied and taxiing with their propellers in motion,” the affidavit states, adding that Parker tried to get inside a running airplane and ordered the pilot to take off. But Embry Riddle security managed to grab Parker in time, and local cops arrived a short time later and placed him in custody, according to the affidavit.
Parker waived his constitutional rights and agreed to be questioned by sheriff’s deputies and the FBI, which investigates crimes committed aboard U.S.-registered aircraft and at American airports.
The affidavit says Parker confessed to everything, and “admitted that he attempted to enter the aircraft so that he could fly away to visit his sister in Sanibel, Florida.”
Although Parker was responsive and “articulated himself well” during the interview, he also occasionally “became visibly angry and physically resistant,” the affidavit states.
In January, Parker was apprehended on felony burglary charges, and was incoherent when police responded, according to a review of state criminal court filings. In October 2020, he pleaded guilty to DUI and no contest to threatening the arresting officer, according to charging papers in that case, and in 2006 was ordered to attend DUI school and drug rehab following a DUI and reckless driving arrest.
Two weeks ago, Parker was charged with a misdemeanor for operating a motorcycle without a license.
He is now facing federal charges of damaging, destroying, or disabling the facilities of an airport serving international civil aviation, a felony which carries up to 20 years in prison; and knowingly and willfully entering an aircraft or airport area in violation of security requirements, a misdemeanor with a potential sentence of up to a year.
As fuel prices rise, US lawmakers push to suspend the federal gas tax
Helena city commission scraps immigration resolution, citing legal risk
Artemis II astronauts arrive at Florida launch site for first moon trip in 53 years
The Latest: House considers whether to approve funding for TSA and most of Homeland Security
US-Iran war in numbers: Thousands dead, billions spent, and global economy in crisis
Johnson kills bill to solve airport crisis and implies Leader Thune not in control
