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Man arrested after jumping fence and boarding American Airlines plane at Florida airport

Nishal Sankat, 22, reportedly was tackled by a technician and supervisor as he entered the cockpit of the plane.

Federal authorities are investigating Thursday after a student pilot hopped a fence at an Orlando-area airport overnight and boarded an American Airlines aircraft undergoing maintenance.

The 22-year-old man, identified as Nishal Sankat, reportedly were tackled by a technician and supervisor as he entered the cockpit of the plane at Orlando Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Fla., around 2 a.m. The suspect briefly escaped onto the airfield in an attempt to flee but was arrested minutes later by airport police, airport spokeswoman Lori Booker said in a news conference.

Sankat, a student at the Florida Institute of Technology, was charged with a criminal attempt to steal an airplane, trespassing and a visa violation.

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“It appears we have actually four heroes among us here at Orlando Melbourne International Airport,” Booker said. “When the suspect entered the plane, he was not recognized by the two people on the plane doing work. ... When they approached him and he did not answer accordingly, they tackled him.”

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American Airlines said the Airbus A321 aircraft was undergoing maintenance at an airport hangar to install new in-flight WiFi technology. The carrier referred further comment to the FBI, which is investigating the incident.

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The incident came barely a month after a ramp worker at Alaska Airlines’ subsidiary Horizon Air stole a regional jet and made an authorized takeoff from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The man, 29-year-old Richard Russell, died after the plane crashed near the airport about an hour after takeoff.

Sankat received a commercial pilot certificate, which requires at least 250 flight hours, earlier this year, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

On Thursday, the Melbourne airport was on lockdown and entrances were blocked due to police activity until about 7 a.m.

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Sankat left his car running near the terminal, prompting police to use a robot to search the vehicle before towing it away shortly after 7 a.m.

Federal authorities are investigating the motive behind the breach. Sankat is originally from Trinidad and Tobago but entered the U.S. through Canada. He had a Florida driver’s license.\

The Associated Press contributed to this report.