United Airlines Pilot Who Attacked a Parking Gate With An Axe Has Settled His Case

by Anthony Losanno
United Pilot Axe

Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.

Last month, I wrote about a bizarre incident at Denver International Airport (DEN). A United Airlines pilot, apparently frustrated by the wait time to get out of an employee parking lot, took out an axe and hacked down the mechanical arm of a parking gate. The case has now been settled with the pilot agreeing to enter a 12-month diversion program.

Per Wikipedia, “a diversion program, also known as a pretrial diversion program or pretrial intervention program, in the criminal justice system is a form of pretrial sentencing that helps remedy behavior leading to the arrest.” Adams County court records show that Kenneth Henderson Jones reached such an agreement this week. He was charged with criminal mischief and the diversion program will allow him to avoid criminal prosecution.

The video above shows the 63-year-old pilot striking the parking arm 23 times before it breaks. Two other airport employees intervened and took the axe from him. There was a struggle, but luckily no one was injured. Jones was scheduled to appear in court on September 25th, but this week’s agreement means there will not be a court appearance.

CBS News Colorado is reporting:

Jones is agreeing to submit to an assessment of what caused his behavior, 30 hours of relevant community service, pay restitution for the damage, and agrees that the agreement will be terminated if he is involved in any other criminal case. He will also have to get approval from a client manager before leaving the state and agrees to random drug testing.”

Anthony’s Take: Everyone has a breaking point and this pilot hit his while waiting to exit the parking lot. In my opinion, the punishment fits the crime and he will hopefully learn some anger management and coping skills in the diversion program.

(Featured Image Credit: CBS Colorado via YouTube.)

User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.

Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.

1 comment

Christian September 28, 2023 - 1:51 pm

As long as he’s not flying during the year that’s fine. Maybe I’m just old fashioned but I REALLY wouldn’t want to fly with a pilot who:

Carries an axe in his trunk.

Attacks things with the axe.

Has to have the axe wrestled from him forcefully.

Reply

Leave a Comment

Related Articles