Man arrested after boarding plane in US government VIP fleet at Joint Base Andrews
(CNN)A man gained access to a C-40 aircraft on Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Thursday that's part of a fleet frequently utilized by senior government leaders, the base said in a statement Friday.
The
US Air Force Inspector General has been directed to investigate the
breach and the Air Force will also launch a comprehensive review of
installation security and trends, according to a statement by the
military branch.
The
316th Wing Public Affairs said in the statement that the man had
"gained unauthorized access to the flightline and entered a C-40
aircraft assigned to the 89th Airlift Wing. Joint Base Andrews Security
Forces responded, detained and interviewed the individual. US Air Force
Office of Special Investigations assisted with the interview."
Pentagon
spokesperson John Kirby said the Department of Defense and Air Force
are taking the incident "very seriously." He added that the Air Force
adjusted "some of their security protocols" after the breach.
The
89th Airlift employs the planes typically used by the President as Air
Force One and others that are used to transport the vice president and
Cabinet members.
The
plane the man boarded is not part of the presidential fleet, according
to a Defense Department official. And a federal law enforcement official
told CNN that "there was no threat that the unauthorized individual was
going to gain access to a protected asset."
The
announcement came hours before President Joe Biden is scheduled to
travel from Joint Base Andrews to Delaware for the weekend. It is not
publicly known which plane Biden will use. Any aircraft with the
President on board is designated as Air Force One.
According to the Air Force, the C-40 in the 89th Airlift Wing
"provides safe, comfortable and reliable transportation for US leaders
to locations around the world" and its "primary customers are the
combatant commanders, and the C-40C customers include members of the
Cabinet and Congress."
The
man was booked, given a federal summons for trespassing and turned over
to local law enforcement, the statement said. The man had two
outstanding warrants and there was no indication that the individual has
any links to extremist groups, according to the statement.
"The
security of our installation is paramount," Col. Roy Oberhaus, the vice
wing commander of the 316th Wing at Joint Base Andrews said in the
statement. "This was a serious breach of security and Joint Base Andrews
is investigating the incident to determine how this happened so it
doesn't happen again."
The US Secret Service declined to comment.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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