A man climbed over a barbed wire fence into Aberdeen International Airport and was seen wandering around near parked planes – in a drunken bid to find his girlfriend.
Ryan Duncan had consumed alcohol and drugs when he clambered over the 2.5-metre fence and was spotted “meandering” close to the runway by alarmed ground crew.
Sheriff William Summers described the incident as “an extraordinary breach of security” at the Dyce airport.
Fiscal depute David Rodger said the incident happened around 10pm on March 10 last year.
He said Duncan, 39, was seen by staff at the airport inside a restricted, fenced-off area walking near three parked Loganair planes.
‘I was just trying to visit my girlfriend’
Witnesses were “alarmed and concerned” as it was clear he was not an employee.
On being challenged, Duncan started to “mumble incoherently”.
Staff followed him as he walked off in the direction of the Dyce railway station, passing more parked planes, and then clambered back over the fence.
Police were called and Duncan was quickly traced and arrested.
Duncan told officers: “I was just trying to visit my girlfriend.”
Duncan, of Wellheads Avenue, Dyce, pled guilty to entering a restricted zone of the airport without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.
Defence agent Mike Monro said his client had gained access by climbing over the fence close to the bridge over the tracks at Dyce railway station.
He said: “He manages, in his complete state of both inebriation and under the influence of drugs, to clamber over the 2.5-metre fence and half a metre of barbed wire.
“Somehow he managed to get over it.
“He’s meandering around this area and there are parked planes sitting there and he then clambers back again.”
‘An extraordinary breach of security’
Mr Monro said Duncan could offer “no rational explanation” for his actions.
He said: “His very words, when charged by the police, were: ‘Ah, boys, can I not get a warning for going over the fence? I was just trying to visit my girlfriend’.
“The only place she could not be was over the 2.5-metre fence with half a metre of barbed wire.”
Sheriff William Summers said: “It appears, on the face of it, to be an extraordinary breach of security at the airport.”
The legislation Duncan was charged under – the Aviation Security Act 1982 – is used so rarely used that Sheriff Summers had to look up an old PDF, which stated the maximum penalty was five shillings.
After finding more up-to-date information about the available penalties, he ordered Duncan to complete 60 hours of unpaid work as an alternative to a fine.
A spokesman for Aberdeen International Airport said: “The safety and security of our airport is paramount.
“We thank our staff and partners who quickly identified this incident which reached a swift conclusion.”
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