Officials probe why man killed on Texas runway was there

Investigators are trying to determine how a man with apparently no security clearance ended up on a runway at a Texas airport where he was struck and killed by a landing commercial jet. Junin Ko, 22, died Thursday night when a Southwest plane struck him as it landed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, authorities said. Pilots had reported seeing a person while landing. The Boeing 737 aircraft was arriving from Dallas with 53 passengers and five crew members, airport spokesperson Bryce Dubee said. The man didn’t have a security badge, which would have cleared him to enter the airport’s secure side, Dubee said. Employees at the Austin Department of Aviation, airlines and concessions are required to have a badge, he said, adding that the man didn’t work anywhere in the airport where a security badge is not required, such as a hotel or gas station. “This type of thing is defined as a runway incursion,” Dubee said. “This is the first time we’ve ever had a security breach of this nature.” The FAA, the TSA, Austin police and the airport are investigating what happened, Dubee said.<br/>