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A series of security breaches last month at the Maryland military facility that houses Air Force One allowed an intruder to move “unencumbered” for more than five hours and board a plane destined for senior citizens. government officials, the Air Force’s internal watchdog said in a report on Thursday. .
The man, previously identified as Joseph Armstrong, 36, was able to access the grounds on February 4 when a guard on duty failed to properly verify his credentials before allowing him to enter the office of the inspector of the air force. Said the general in his report. He then crossed the flight line and entered the C-40 aircraft used to carry VIP passengers.
“There were three levels of breakdowns,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Sami Said said Thursday. “The first one, the one that really should have kept that ball from rolling in the first place, is obviously the gate [where] we had a security forces aviator. They were distracted and did not follow procedure.
The gatekeeper, who was “fully qualified and trained” to work at the base access points, failed to correctly identify Armstrong, who was not named in the report but described as one without. – shelter with an arrest record.
The gatekeeper, who also has not been named, later told investigators he was distracted by a personal issue that morning.
After gaining access to the base, Armstrong reportedly wandered “clutter-free” and visited the facility’s food court and passenger lounge. He “stumbled for a while,” before gaining access to the flight line through a faulty automatic door that did not close properly, Said told reporters.
Once in the flight line, the soldiers stationed there “did not observe the man walking towards the plane”, and those who saw him on board the plane “did not dispute his presence, ”according to a summary of the report.
Armstrong was able to board the plane because it was open to crew training, according to the report.
Two crew members training on the plane saw him board and exit the plane a few minutes later. He was apprehended by personnel from the 316th Security Forces Squadron after someone in the passenger terminal alerted them. Armstrong was arrested for unauthorized access to the flight line and turned over to local authorities.
He was booked by the US Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations, received a federal trespassing summons, and turned over to local law enforcement in Virginia because he had two outstanding warrants.
When asked why he was at the base, “his response was, ‘I just wanted to see planes,’” said Said, who noted that the man also said he had consumed alcohol before entering the facility.
Said said security personnel who failed to notice or challenge the intruder were not disciplined, although the security guard at the gate was not disciplined. judicial process on the part of his command.
In the aftermath of the incident, Joint Base Andrews stepped up its security, with new measures including the addition of additional security patrols.
The report determined that there were no underlying systemic security issues.
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