The Joint Terrorism Task Force – which includes the FBI – is overseeing an investigation into an incident involving a man suspected of having jumped a fence at Orlando International Airport and boarded an American Airlines hangar.

The 26-year-old man, who left his car in front of the departure zone, was attacked by a technician and a shift supervisor as he entered the cockpit of the plane around 2 am authorities. The plane was in the same large maintenance hangar used by President Donald Trump to hold a rally in February 2017.

Booker said the airport staff responded quickly to the potential threat.

"There has been a security breach," said Lori Booker, spokesman for the airport. "Our airport police service responded within two minutes," she added.

The man, who attempted to flee the passenger plane after the two workers confronted him, was arrested within two minutes of boarding. Authorities said that an avionics technician was in the kitchen of the plane and saw a shadow.

"He went back and said," Who are you? Show me your badge, "said Booker. The unidentified technician, one of four people qualified as a hero in the security compromise episode, caught the man and, with the help of another technician, drove the man out of the plane.

Booker said that one of the men held the grounded man while the other called the Melbourne Airport Police. The student pilot was then released and ran along the aerodrome before he was stopped by two policemen. Questions about this case were sent to the FBI, a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multi-agency group that includes several federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

The authorities are now trying to determine a motive and whether it is an isolated incident, said Booker.

The student pilot is from Trinidad and has ties to Canada. He also has a driver's license in Florida, reports Booker.

More: A few minutes after boarding, the intruder from the airport was attacked in the cockpit

The airport was stopped until 7am. All flights at the airport, which handle about 500,000 passengers a year, were suspended for about five hours. Two flights from the airport were delayed during the lockdown. The plane – which was not used – was a commercial Airbus A321 and can carry more than 200 passengers. The Airbus was not in use.

Several agencies responded to the violation, including the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

TO CLOSE

The spokeswoman for Orlando International Airport Melbourne, Lori Booker, said that a technician and a shift manager attacked an intruder when he illegally boarded an airplane.
Malcolm Denemark, FLORIDA TODAY & # 39; HUI

A car was towed by Lee's Towing with Melbourne CSI pickup trucks in front and behind at around 7:15. A robot used by police searched the vehicle before it was removed from the airport.

The incident happened overnight with Melbourne Police Tweeting early Thursday that the Orlando International Airport Melbourne has temporarily closed due to "the activity of the police".

Police had blocked the entrances to the airport.

Thursday's security breach was quickly thwarted, unlike some recent incidents that have garnered national attention.

Last month, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, a seemingly suicidal Air Horizon handler entered the cockpit of an unmanned Bombardier Q400 turboprop, took off and flew for one hour before crush on Ketron Island.

More: Hear the audio conversation before the crash of Seattle plane

Booker said that security training helped prepare agents and staff to respond to the violation. Greg Donovan, the executive director of the airport, spoke to the attendants who confronted the man.

"I want you to know how grateful we are for your heroic actions and your quick thinking," Donovan told the men, according to Booker.

contributing: Rick Neale and Jennifer Sangalang, FLORIDA TODAY & # 39; HUI

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