Cross-dresser and drunk jump airport fences in Newark, Phoenix

On Christmas Day, two men, one dressed in woman’s attire and another totally drunk, climbed on to high-security fence at US airports, thus creating security incidents at two separate airports in Newark, New Jersey, and Phoenix, Arizona.

One showed “indications of possible drug and alcohol impairment.” The other was wearing woman’s clothing and was not interested in anything at the airport – instead he was seeking safety from someone who frightened him, police said. Both men were charged with trespassing and released.

Siyah Bryant, 24, allegedly mounted the barrier at Newark Liberty International Airport and it went unnoticed for a day. The next day a review of security camera footage revealed his ascent, according to the Port Authority police. The cross-dressed suspect then ran across two runways to get to Terminal C.

The breach at Newark exposed a failure of a $100 million system designed to protect New York City area airports. The Phoenix fence fiasco was the fifth in a decade at that airport.

A law enforcement official said Bryant told detectives he got spooked while in a car with someone and tried to get away. The fright was apparently enough to drive Bryant over two big barriers. He allegedly scaled an eight-foot exterior fence and then a 10-foot, high-tech fence equipped with motion sensors and CCTV cameras.

Also on Christmas Day, police in Phoenix arrested 49-year-old Robert Bump after he allegedly ran onto the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, police said. Tower officials saw a man climb over a fence and run onto the tarmac and taxiway, where he headed for a Southwest Airlines plane. The pilot shut down the plane’s engines when told the man was approaching. The suspect, who appeared intoxicated, struck the plane’s engine with his hands before heading towards the terminal, where he was arrested.