A 24-year-old man was arrested after climbing the fence at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Christmas morning and walking onto the tarmac, USA TODAY reported.
The unidentified man, who was reportedly dressed in "women's red pants and a smart brown sweater," was taken into custody and charged with trespassing around 4:45 a.m. on Wednesday morning.
According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Chief Louie Koumoutsos, the security system was effective, causing an alarm to go off after security cameras discovered the man scaling the fence.
"The individual involved was arrested, checked against the [Joint Terrorism Task Force] and FBI watch list, issued a summons and released," Koumoutsos said to the Post.
Koumoutsos also told the Associated Press that they're looking into why it took "an unacceptably long time" for authorities to locate the man after the first alarm.
"The investigation is now focusing on the actions of the third-party operator who monitors the camera and the alarms," the police chief said to The Star Ledger. "The investigation will continue until we have answers regarding this matter."
Oddly enough, this is the second incident of it's kind that occurred on Christmas day this year. In Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona, a 49-year-old man also jumped the airport's fence and ran on the taxi-way towards a plane that just landed.
Authorities arrested Robert Edward Bump, 49, shortly after pilots realized he was closing in on the aircraft. Police say he jumped the fence near Terminal 3.
"Bump struck the engine of the aircraft with his hands and was walking toward the terminal when he was quickly apprehended by officers," Officer James Holmes said.
