String of break-ins, crime at Charlotte airport has pilot concerned

CHARLOTTE — An American Airlines pilot says someone stole wheels right off his car at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport parking lot last weekend.

Channel 9 spoke with Erik DeWinne, the vice chair of the Charlotte Branch of American Pilots’ Union, after pilots complained to him about a string of break-ins in the parking lot in September 2023.

He claims things haven’t gotten better.

“We don’t have any confidence right now in the city of putting safety number one,” DeWinne said.

Images were posted in a private Facebook group this week on the break-ins. The group is exclusive to around 15,000 pilots who fly for American Airlines, 2,000 of whom are based in Charlotte. They also sent several pictures of cars in the parking lot with their windows down asking union leadership to “help spread the word about securing vehicles.”

DeWinne also sent Channel 9 a string of email correspondence including airport officials like COO Jerome Woodard, sending weekly updates to the union and other stakeholders on an action plan to address the parking issues.

According to DeWinne, those updates stopped last November and he’s not getting responses to current emails.

“It kind of ebbs and flows, but it never stopped,” DeWinne said. ”Since then, we’ve been pressing the issue and trying to explore all avenues, and seeing that pilot come back to his car sitting literally on its brake rotors with no wheels on it, that infuriated a lot of people.”

“In aviation, safety is always the first priority,” DeWinne said. “If we get you there on time, great, that’s an added bonus. And frankly, the City of Charlotte and the airport are not putting safety first.”

Officials with the Charlotte Douglas International Airport told Channel 9 on Wednesday that they’ve partnered with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and made “considerable investments in a variety of crime prevention measures specific to airport parking facilities yielding significant results.”

Airport officials said: ”These crime prevention investments include the use of sky towers in parking areas, deployment of mobile license plate readers, crime prevention messaging, and enhanced officer presence through additional shifts dedicated to parking lot patrols.

CMPD Airport Division has reported a 44-percent reduction in auto thefts this year compared to 2023. Over the past five years, auto larceny has dropped an average of 22 percent, even with the tremendous increase in passenger traffic at CLT.

Regarding the flight crew and employee lot, there have been three reports of vehicle break-ins this year, each of which is isolated. CMPD always encourages all individuals to lock vehicle doors no matter where you are.

CLT and CMPD are in regular contact with the chair of the Charlotte branch of American Pilots’ Union and other stakeholders regarding the safety and security of the entire airport property.”

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