Košice airport (source: TASR)
Around this time last year, a Dutch man got drunk, damaged an airport fence and entered a hangar at Košice airport. He then entered an aircraft refuelling truck and started the engine.
However, due to safety measures the vehicle did not move. It did not take long and he was detained by the police.
The man in question was 24-year old Arnoldus Cornelis Ludovicus B. from Eindhoven, Netherlands. At the time he was taking part in a car rally.
Already before the airport incident members of his group had cleared concrete blocks off a bridge near Košice that had been closed, because authorities feared it might collapse - and then drove over it and posted footage of what they had done on social media.
He admitted to having drunk around 15 to 20 beers, and that after a while he had next to no recollection of what had happened. He also admitted to starting the engine, but did not want to drive the vehicle as he did not know how to do so. The man was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and faced up to 8 years in prison as the vehicle was of considerable value.
The refuelling truck itself was worth €62,000. Moreover, it contained 25,000 litres of air-fuel worth €66,500. The damage to the airport fence amounted to €100.
At the beginning of July, the Košice city court issued a criminal order by which the Dutch was found guilty as charged. He received a fine of €1,800 and a two-year prison sentence with a one-year suspension.
The case file is currently being translated and sent to Eindhoven. If the man does not object, the order becomes final. Otherwise, he will be tried in a courtroom.
