Teens riding e-bikes on runway cause pilot to abort landing at Oakland County airport

A near miss at an Oakland County airport when a pilot was forced to avoid landing after a group of teenagers on e-bikes took over the runway. The incident has led airport authorities to increase security.

"It's horrific. The thought of what a catastrophic incident that this could have been," said Oakland County Airports director of aviation Cheryl Bush.

Bush says on Aug. 19, around 2 p.m., a group of at least 18 teenagers riding e-bikes trespassed on the property at Oakland Southwest airport in New Hudson.

"They were approaching our runway protection zone, and in fact, a small group of that 18 actually got onto the runway and were popping wheelies on the runway unbeknownst to them the danger they were in at the time," Bush said.

Bush tells CBS News Detroit that a pilot was intending to land on the runway. The airport operations coordinator used his radio to contact the pilot who was forced to abort his landing. Eventually, the teens sped off, clearing the runway, and the pilot landed safely.

"It was really ... a near miss," said Bush.

The Oakland Southwest Airport is not your traditional commercial airport. It serves private pilots and has about 35 planes taking off or landing each day.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident and working to identify the teens involved.

Public information officer Tyler Sweers sent CBS News Detroit the following statement:

"The incident occurred at approximately 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, when several juveniles riding e-bikes were reportedly observed unlawfully on the airport runway. We are working to identify those involved and encourage them, or their parents or guardians, to contact us. Our primary goal is not to impose severe consequences, but to identify those responsible, reinforce the serious safety risks associated with entering an active runway and ensure this type of dangerous behavior does not happen again."

Meantime, Bush says the airport is stepping up security to install surveillance cameras, fencing, and no trespassing signs and says they will hold the juveniles accountable if caught.

"We've never had any incident like this before. It is not a fenced-in airport. The potential of what could have happened in this incident could have been devastating for many families," Bush said.

In Michigan, trespassing on airport property is punishable by up to one year in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both.