Authorities say no one was hurt after a driver crashed through a secure gate at Daytona Beach International Airport and ran toward multiple aircraft.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL — A 58-year-old Holly Hill man is accused of crashing through a locked gate at Daytona Beach International Airport, driving onto the airfield and trying to get into multiple planes on March 25 before airport workers and deputies stopped him, authorities said.
Bryan J. Parker now faces a stack of state charges, including attempted aircraft piracy, after a breach that drew local deputies, airport staff, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University security officers and the FBI. The case matters because it involved a secured area at a commercial airport, an occupied running plane and a short but serious interruption to airfield operations. Officials say no people were hurt, no aircraft were damaged and airport service returned to normal, but investigators are still sorting through the full record and any federal steps that could follow.
Authorities said the episode began at about 4:23 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, when Parker drove a blue Ford Mustang at a high rate of speed through a locked perimeter gate near the international terminal and onto the airfield. The sheriff’s office said the gate was destroyed and found on the ground when a deputy arrived about two minutes later. Witnesses told investigators the car entered a taxiway and nearly struck an Embry-Riddle training aircraft that was taxiing nearby. Parker then got out and moved toward an occupied plane with its engine running, but the aircraft was locked and he could not get inside. Investigators said he ran from plane to plane as airport workers chased him. In body camera video released later, a deputy asked, “What’s the deal, man?” Parker answered that he did not remember what had happened.
The sheriff’s office said Parker reached at least one unoccupied aircraft and was pulled out by an airport operations technician, who sat him on the tailgate of a truck while help arrived. Investigators said Parker then jumped down and ran again toward another plane before he was restrained and handcuffed. Airport officials later said the time from the gate crash to the moment he was restrained was less than four minutes. Air traffic control also reacted quickly. Audio published by local television showed a controller warning that there was an unauthorized vehicle on the airfield while crews tracked it down. The airport said eyewitnesses called 911 right away and credited controllers, its operations staff and Embry-Riddle security officers with helping end the breach. What remains unclear is whether Parker had any ability to operate an aircraft, how far he believed he could get and whether prosecutors will add or change charges as federal investigators review the case.
The account that emerged after Parker’s arrest added more detail about his condition and his movements. Deputies described him as highly intoxicated. In body camera footage, Parker said he had gone to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and then had been “doing cocaine, drinking and smoking pot.” He also told deputies he did not remember how his car ended up on the airfield. A federal affidavit described him as running around on the taxiway, chasing occupied aircraft with propellers in motion and climbing into at least two small unoccupied planes. That filing said Parker later told FBI agents he had tried to enter an aircraft so he could fly to Sanibel to visit his sister. His account has not been tested in court, and there has been no public indication that he had legal access to any aircraft, flight training or permission to be in the restricted area. Airport officials stressed that the breached gate was federally regulated, locked and secure before the crash.
Parker was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail and faces state charges that include attempted aircraft piracy, burglary of a conveyance, felony trespass at an airport, criminal mischief, refusal to submit to testing, DUI property damage and two counts of exposure of sexual organs. Local reports on his first court appearance said a Volusia County judge denied bond on Thursday, March 26. One television report, citing court records, said this was Parker’s third DUI-related case in the last 10 years. Federal authorities also responded to the scene, and the FBI has been identified by local outlets and court reporting as part of the investigation because the incident involved airport security and aircraft. As of Sunday, March 29, the public record described in news coverage showed the state case moving first, while questions about any separate federal prosecution remained open. A defense response to the allegations was not immediately available in the public reports reviewed for this article.
The scene described by authorities was chaotic but brief. Airport officials said workers on the field saw a Mustang burst through the gate and head toward the Embry-Riddle ramp, where student and training aircraft are common. A deputy’s body camera later captured Parker barefoot, confused and looking around the runway area after his arrest. “What gate did I go through?” he asked at one point, according to the video. The airport, in a public statement the next day, said all people and aircraft remained safe and praised the airport operations agent, the Embry-Riddle security officer, the air traffic controller and the deputies who responded. Those statements underscored how quickly the event unfolded: a car through a secure gate, a run across an active airfield, a failed attempt at an occupied aircraft and then a foot chase among parked planes before officers closed in.
The case stood Sunday with Parker jailed, bond denied in local court and investigators still reviewing the breach. The next milestones are expected to come through future court dates in Volusia County and any announcement on whether federal prosecutors will file separate charges.
Author note: Last updated March 29, 2026.