Jet-skier arrested over airport intrusion

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees JFK Airport, has added police patrols to the airport perimeter and was yesterday investigating the security breach.

“Thank God it wasn’t a terrorist, but we have to look at it as if we had another attack,” said Isaac Yeffet, former chief of security for Israeli airline El Al. “That’s the only way we’ll improve the system.”

Authorities said the trouble began on Friday evening when 31-year-old Daniel Casillo’s jet-ski ran out of fuel offshore.

Casillo swam towards the bright lights of Kennedy’s runway 4L, which juts out into the sea, then climbed an 8ft fence that is part of the airport’s state-of-the-art perimeter intrusion detection system, authorities said.

Soaking wet and wearing a bright yellow life jacket, Casillo made his way across two intersecting runways – an estimated distance of nearly two miles – before he was spotted on a terminal ramp by an airline employee, authorities said.

According to the police report, Casillo told an officer: “I needed help!”

The intrusion-detection system, manufactured by defence contractor Raytheon, should have set off a series of warnings, said a spokesman for the port authority police officers’ union, adding: “This system is made specifically for those types of threats – water-borne threats. It did not detect him climbing over a fence. It did not detect him crossing two active runways.”

Port authority police interrogated Casillo and charged him with criminal trespassing. He was released without bail pending a court appearance on October 2. Authorities said the airport grounds were clearly marked with no-trespassing signs