A man has been arrested after stealing a bus overnight at an airport near Texas A&M University and apparently gaining access to a passenger plane on the tarmac.
Texas A&M police say it's unclear what prompted David Cooper Thurmond of Bryan to enter Easterwood Airport early Saturday morning. Investigators say Thurmond drove his vehicle through a pedestrian gate before taking the 22-seat bus and driving it across runways. The 54-year-old Thurmond was confronted by an airport worker and the two struggled before police arrived.
A review of surveillance video shows Thurmond near an American Eagle airplane. A security seal on the door was found broken. The plane was inspected and its departure to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport delayed three hours.
Thurmond was held Saturday at the Brazos County jail on charges of theft, assault and criminal trespass.