Despite bolstered security, a man was able to commandeer three vehicles Wednesday night at Tokyo's Haneda airport and drive onto the runways with police in pursuit before he came to a stop and jumped into Tokyo Bay and subsequently drowned.
The incident forced the airport to temporarily close. Five jetliners landed, however, while the man was driving erratically near the runway.
Toshiaki Terauchi, 32, first carjacked a woman's car near the cargo terminal for international flights at around 7:10 p.m. He drove it through construction fences and onto the airport premises with police in pursuit.
After crashing the car into the wall of a tunnel at the airport, Terauchi commandeered a limousine bus, ordering the driver and a staff member off. But after running the bus off the road, he jumped out and stole another car.
He then abandoned that vehicle, ran off and jumped into Tokyo Bay, police said.
At 7:50 p.m., 40 minutes after Terauchi burst onto the airport premises, the airport closed all three runways.
Police later found Terauchi floating unconscious in the bay. He was confirmed dead around 9:55 p.m. at a nearby hospital. Police said they believe he drowned.
The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry had just begun bolstering antiterrorism measures at airports prior to the Golden Week holidays, which started Thursday.
Police will turn over to prosecutors their case against the deceased, accusing him of robbery and violating aviation law.
One runway reopened about 8:15 p.m. and the airport was fully operating at 9:30 p.m.
No one else was injured.
At least four flights were canceled, 67 were delayed and 17 rerouted to Narita airport or returned to their points of departure.