Authorities say a Holly Hill man drove through a locked gate, ran toward multiple planes and was stopped in less than four minutes.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A 58-year-old Holly Hill man is accused of smashing through a locked gate at Daytona Beach International Airport, driving onto the airfield and trying to get into several planes Wednesday before airport workers, university security officers and deputies stopped him, authorities said.
The case now reaches beyond a chaotic few minutes on the tarmac because prosecutors have filed an attempted aircraft piracy charge in state court, a judge has denied bond and the FBI has joined the investigation. Officials say no one was hurt and no aircraft were damaged, but the breach raised immediate questions about airport security, the defendant’s condition and whether a separate federal case could follow.
Authorities say the breach began at about 4:23 p.m. on March 25, when Bryan J. Parker drove a blue Ford Mustang through a locked perimeter gate near the airport’s international terminal and headed onto the airfield. A deputy who arrived moments later found the gate destroyed and lying on the ground, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. Witnesses told investigators the Mustang entered a taxiway and nearly struck an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University training aircraft that was already moving nearby. Parker then got out and ran toward an occupied plane with its engine running, but the door was locked and he could not get inside, deputies said. From there, investigators say, he ran from aircraft to aircraft as airport workers chased him across the field. The sheriff’s office said an airport operations technician pulled him out of one plane and sat him on the tailgate of a truck, but Parker jumped down and ran again toward another aircraft before officers and security staff restrained him.
Video released after the arrest added a fuller picture of Parker’s condition. In body camera footage, he appears barefoot, confused and unsure how he got onto the airfield. At one point he told deputies he did not remember what had happened. He also said he had gone to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting earlier and later had been “doing cocaine, drinking and smoking pot.” Deputies described him as highly intoxicated. That account became one of the most important early facts in the case because it helped explain the strange movements on the airfield but did not answer the larger question of intent. Authorities have not said whether Parker had any flight training, knew how to operate any of the planes he reached or understood how close he was to active aircraft movements. They also have not publicly said whether toxicology testing beyond the DUI case has been completed or whether Parker made any threats to airport workers, pilots or deputies during the episode.
The setting matters in this case because Daytona Beach International Airport handles commercial service while also sharing space with Embry-Riddle’s busy flight training operation. That means a perimeter breach can place small training aircraft, student pilots, airport workers and controllers in the same fast-moving emergency. Airport officials said the gate Parker hit was locked, secure and part of a perimeter that meets or exceeds federal airport security rules. In a public statement after the breach, the airport said all people and aircraft remained safe and that operations continued as normal. The airport also said Parker was restrained in less than four minutes from the time his car broke through the gate. Officials credited eyewitnesses who called 911, an air traffic controller who quickly reported the unauthorized vehicle, an airport operations agent and an Embry-Riddle security officer who chased Parker on foot, and deputies who took him into custody. By the next day, the damaged gate had been replaced with a temporary barrier while the investigation continued.
Parker was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on a long list of state charges. The sheriff’s office said those charges include attempted aircraft piracy, burglary of a conveyance, felony trespass in an airport operational area, criminal mischief, DUI with property damage, refusal to submit to testing and two counts of exposure of sexual organs. Local court reporting added that records showed a DUI third-offense allegation within 10 years. During a first appearance on Thursday, March 26, a Volusia County judge denied bond. That ruling kept the case in local custody even as national outlets picked up the story and aviation language such as “aircraft piracy” drew attention far beyond Central Florida. The state charge does not by itself settle what Parker was capable of doing once he reached the aircraft. Instead, it signals how seriously authorities treated his attempt to enter planes in a secured area. A lawyer’s detailed response to the allegations was not publicly available in the reports reviewed for this article.
Federal authorities also moved in quickly. The sheriff’s office said the FBI was on scene the day of the breach, and later court reporting said an FBI probable cause affidavit had been unsealed. According to those accounts, Parker later told federal agents he was trying to get into an aircraft so he could fly to Sanibel and visit his sister. That statement, if prosecutors rely on it, gives investigators a clearer theory about why he kept moving from plane to plane after the first door would not open. It still leaves major gaps. Public reports have not shown that Parker had lawful access to any aircraft, a pilot’s license or the ability to start and taxi any plane on the field. As of Sunday, March 29, public reporting showed the state case moving first, while any separate federal prosecution remained an open question. Investigators also had not publicly explained whether they believe Parker chose the airport deliberately or acted in a heavily impaired state without any real plan beyond getting away.
The scene described by officers and airport workers was chaotic but short. A car burst through a secure gate, crossed into a protected area and then became part of a foot chase among parked and moving aircraft. In body camera footage, Parker sits on the pavement and asks deputies what gate he went through, while one deputy points out that the airport around him is active. Those brief exchanges helped make the case memorable, but officials have tried to keep the focus on the response rather than the spectacle. The airport’s statement praised the people who recognized the danger fastest and acted first, especially the workers and security officers already on the field. That response likely prevented the event from becoming far more serious. No pilots, students, passengers or deputies were reported injured. No aircraft damage was publicly reported. What remains is a criminal case built from witness accounts, body camera video, airport security records and whatever additional evidence state and federal investigators decide to put before a court.
As of Sunday, Parker remained jailed without bond and no separate federal charge had been publicly announced. The next milestones are expected to come in Volusia County court and in any statement from federal authorities on whether the airport breach will bring additional charges beyond the state case already filed.
Author note: Last updated March 29, 2026.