A 21-year-old man is facing criminal charges after he’s accused of trying to take off with a plane from the downtown airport.

According to court documents, airport police said on June 17 Adam Scott stole a Super Shuttle Van from Terminal B at Kansas City International Airport around 12:02 p.m. Nearly an hour later he showed up at the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in downtown KCMO and dumped the van.

Surveillance cameras captured Scott walking into the terminal - then onto the tarmac.

A jet from the Executive Airshare company was preparing for take off.

The real pilot told airport police he returned to the plane and found Scott in the right pilot seat playing with the controls.

Scott's mother didn't want to speak with 41 Action News about the incident. But neighbors in Overland Park told us what he's accused of is unlike him.

According to court documents, Scott told police he stole the shuttle van while at KCI and drove it to the downtown airport. He said he attempted to buy airline tickets, but he didn't have enough money at both airports. Scott told police he was able to get onto the area where airplanes were parked and saw an aircraft that was getting readied for flight and entered. Scott said he sat in the right pilot seat and manipulated the controls of the aircraft, saying he was attempting to fly it to Miami.

Scott faces charges in Clay County for tampering with the plane and charges in Platte and Clay counties for stealing the shuttle van.

Late Monday afternoon, the Kansas City Aviation Department released a statement:

“On June 17, 2016 KCI Airport police responded to a report of a stolen commercial shuttle van a commercial shuttle van that had been parked at the median at Kansas City International Airport. Subsequently, there was a report that an individual allegedly mixed in with passengers and crew during the boarding process of a private aircraft at a terminal at Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport and entered airfield and the aircraft. Downtown Airport security and KCI Airport Police responded and detained the individual. At no time was there a security breach at either airport. The investigation is ongoing.”

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Andres Gutierrez can be reached at andres.gutierrez@kshb.com

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