Pilot at ‘breaking point’ attacks car park exit barrier with an axe

A pilot who was at “breaking point” has been arrested after attacking a car park barrier with an axe at a busy US airport.

Kenneth Henderson Jones can be seen in a video making his way to the exit gates before swinging the axe, hitting the barrier 23 times.

Two employees at Denver International Airport can be seen getting into an altercation with the 63-year-old, during which the United Airlines pilot relinquished the weapon before being arrested by police.

Mr Jones told officers that “he just hit his breaking point” and he wanted to “get rid of issues for everyone waiting” by retrieving the axe from his parked car, reports CBS.

According to the police report, Mr Jones was trying to leave the car park but was stuck behind lines of six vehicles at each of the three exits. Reports suggest that there have been issues with this car park, with many people there parking without the correct permits.

The amount of damage caused is estimated to be $700. Mr Jones has been charged with misdemeanour criminal mischief, and he was released from custody later that same day. He is due to appear in court on 25 September.

A spokesperson for United Airlines told The Independent that the pilot has been “removed from the schedule and is on leave while United conducts an internal investigation”.

Denver International Airport has also been approached for comment.

Last month, a United Airlines pilot was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence after he showed up to fly “staggering” drunk, despite claiming he had only had two glasses of wine the night before.

The American pilot turned up to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, France for a transatlantic journey. “He was staggering slightly, his eyes were glassy, and his mouth pasty,” a police officer told a Paris court.