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Man Accused of Ramming Daytona Airport Gate and Trying to Seize Planes

Newly unsealed FBI records describe heavy intoxication before a bid to fly to his sister in Sanibel.

Overview

  • Parker, identified by authorities as 58-year-old Bryan John Parker, breached a locked gate at Daytona Beach International Airport on Wednesday and ran onto active taxiways.
  • Investigators say he climbed into at least two parked small planes and then pulled at the door of a running aircraft while yelling at the pilot to go.
  • Security officers from Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University detained him on the tarmac, and Volusia County deputies arrived shortly after to make the arrest.
  • Bodycam video released by deputies shows Parker telling officers he went to an AA meeting earlier, then used cocaine, drank alcohol, and smoked marijuana.
  • He faces state counts including attempted aircraft piracy and felony airport trespass, plus federal charges for damaging airport facilities and entering a secured area, with the felony carrying a potential 20‑year sentence.