Bus driver kicked explosive drone out of the air at German airport
His act potentially prevented an attack at an airport that served as a major Nato hub
A bus driver knocked an explosive-laden drone out of the air, potentially preventing an attack this week at a German airport that serves as a major Nato and cargo logistics hub, a senior lawmaker said on Friday.
The man spotted the drone flying low while he was working at Leipzig/Halle airport late on Tuesday, then kicked out at it in what Detlef Seif described as a courageous but dangerous act.
The drone, which prosecutors said was equipped with professional explosives and a detonator, then crashed nearby, Seif, from the governing conservative CDU party, told journalists.
Federal prosecutors have launched a counterterrorism probe into what they say was a serious attack that could have impacted foreign and domestic security. The incursion was reported on Wednesday. Seif’s statement was the most detailed account to date of how the drone was spotted and stopped.
Authorities have not named the man or said where the drone came from and how it managed to get into a restricted part of the airport.
Leipzig/Halle is the main operational base for Nato’s Strategic Airlift International Solution, known as Salis, which uses Antonovs to deliver equipment to strengthen the defence pact’s eastern flank among other missions.
It is also used by logistics companies including DHL.