Austin–Bergstrom International Airport runway incident


The Austin–Bergstrom International Airport runway incident on May 7, 2020, involved an adult male pedestrian who breached the airport's security and was fatally struck by a Boeing 737-700 operated on Southwest Airlines Flight 1392 as it landed on runway 17R. No injuries to passengers or crew in the aircraft were reported, however the plane sustained damage to its left engine nacelle.
The accident and security breach are currently undergoing investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, local law enforcement, and the Transportation Security Administration.

Accident

At approximately 8:12 PM CDT, Flight 1392 reported that they "saw an unauthorized individual" on the runway before the plane landed. A short time later, a pilot on Flight 1392 reported seeing a person on the runway shortly after the plane touched down. A subsequent search with an airport operation vehicle found a body on the runway and the adult victim was declared dead at the scene. A spokesman with Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services said that "no lifesaving measures" were performed because "the person was obviously deceased."
The victim was not authorized to be on the runway at the time. Shortly after the incident, the runway was closed for investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration. CBS News revealed that the left engine nacelle of the aircraft had been damaged, but authorities did not confirm that the damage was directly related to impact with the pedestrian.

Aircraft

The accident aircraft was a Boeing 737-7H4, registered in the United States as N401WN, msn 29813. It was built in 2001 for Southwest Airlines.
On May 10, the aircraft was placed back in service.

Investigation

In a statement on May 8, the city of Austin website reported that the National Transportation Safety Board "has delegated authority to the Austin Police Department to lead the investigation". That same day, a communications manager for the airport confirmed that the victim was not a badged airport employee. On May 11, the Austin Police Department identified the victim as 22-year-old Junin Ko, and an airport spokesperson characterized the occurrence as a "security breach" and a "runway incursion" but refused to comment on how Ko gained access to the runway.