Man Taken Into Custody at Buffalo Airport After Crashing Pickup Truck Into Gate

A man in a pickup truck drove through a roadside gate at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport and crossed a runway before being taken into custody Tuesday.
Man Taken Into Custody at Buffalo Airport After Crashing Pickup Truck Into Gate
The Buffalo Niagara International Airport sign in Cheektowaga, N.Y., on July 23, 2022. JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock
The Associated Press
Updated:
0:00

CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y.—A man in a pickup truck drove through a roadside gate at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport and crossed a runway before being taken into custody Tuesday morning, according to police.

The unidentified man was apprehended at the western New York airport without incident about 6 minutes after breaching the gate, which was damaged. The incident, which occurred at about 7:30 a.m., did not disrupt air traffic, said Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Police Chief Brian Patterson.

It was not clear why the man breached the gate, but Patterson told reporters at a briefing that “we’ve come to the conclusion that this was intentional.”

The pickup truck crossed a taxiway and a runway before the man was taken into custody on an inactive runway outside a plane that is used for training, the chief said.

Paterson said the man faces state and federal charges.

The FBI was assisting with the investigation.

A dog inside the vehicle was being cared for.