Detroit Metro Airport erupted into chaos Friday night when a vehicle blasted through the doors of the McNamara Terminal and crashed straight into a Delta Air Lines ticket counter — a scene witnesses described as “unreal,” “terrifying,” and “over in seconds.”
The crash happened around 7:30 p.m. in Romulus, Michigan. Authorities say the driver was immediately taken into custody, but the motive behind the bizarre breach remains a mystery.
Travelers inside the terminal heard what many described as a thunderous boom before they saw the shattered glass and a vehicle sitting inside the building.
“I thought it was an explosion,” said one passenger who was checking in nearby. “People froze. Nobody knew if it was an attack or an accident.”
Video captured by a 7 News Detroit employee shows the car lodged near the ticket counters, debris scattered across the floor, and stunned airport staff standing only feet from where the vehicle came to a stop.
Witnesses said the driver stepped out of the car with both hands raised. One traveler recalled, “He was talking, but no one could understand him. It was like he was in shock.”
Security officers flooded the scene within seconds.
“The response was so quick — thank God,” said traveler Ali Khalifa. “Cops, TSA, everybody ran toward it. They didn’t hesitate.”
Airport officials confirmed six people were treated at the scene. None of the injuries were initially described as life-threatening.
Vehicle breaches at major U.S. airports are extremely rare, and investigators are now trying to determine how fast the driver was traveling, whether the act was intentional, and how the car managed to penetrate the entrance with travelers and staff so close by.
A former airport security official who reviewed the video told us the impact point — a public entry near Delta’s ticket area — is “a vulnerable zone but protected by layered monitoring.”
He added, “Incidents like this trigger a full review. Airports want to know if this was a fluke or a failure.”
Despite the dramatic scene, flights continued operating. Passengers were rerouted around the damaged area as crews cleaned up and investigators documented the crash zone.
As of late Friday, police had not released the driver’s identity or a suspected cause.
“We were all shaking,” one traveler said. “You don’t expect a car to come through the terminal while you’re printing a boarding pass.”
Discover more from Next Gen News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.