Denver leaders investigate security measures following airport trespasser's death
It could have been much worse was the repeated sentiment by Phil Washington, Denver International Airport's CEO, during Tuesday's press conference. Washington explained what happened the night a man trespassed onto airport property, and then was hit and killed by an airplane in the process of takeoff. Moving forward, the focus will be on safety and security.
"DEN has multiple layers of security," Washington said. "We use technology. We conduct continuous perimeter fence inspections. We have security patrols."
Still, on May 8, Washington says 41-year-old Michael Mott was able to get past a ground detection sensor that triggered an alarm and then get over the gate.
"It took approximately 15 seconds for this person to jump over the 8-foot fence topped with barbed wire," Washington said.
Officials say this isn't the first time someone has trespassed on the property.
"We have had fence jumpers before," Washington continued.
So it begs the question whether anything can be done to bolster security. Washington says the largest airport in the country already received perfect scores on multiple Federal Aviation Administration safety inspections, including airfield safety and perimeter integrity.
"We don't want our fence to be deadly, and even if the fence was taller, we believe a motivated individual could find a way to penetrate it," Washington added.
Denver City Council is asking similar questions.
"Are there other mechanisms that we can use to prevent this kind of thing from happening?" Councilman Kevin Flynn told CBS Colorado. "There's been no clue as to how this person got there. ... There was no car nearby that was abandoned. Was he dropped off? How did they get there? That will help inform what we need to do to try to stop it from happening again."
The city council oversees Denver International Airport by approving contracts and operational policies. Transportation and Infrastructure Committee members hope to discuss what happened during its upcoming meeting.
"We have a longer session to go over some of the things that they're looking at, and I'm sure that will be one of the things that comes up," Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez told CBS Colorado.
They'll help contribute to any changes that might need to be made.
"Can the barbed wire be strengthened?" Flynn asked. "Can it be razor wire? I want to hear what the airport has to recommend to us."
