CLEVELAND (WJW) – The FOX 8 I-Team pressed the head of Hopkins Airport Wednesday about the safety of travelers after a security failure not noticed for hours.

The airport has never revealed how an intruder recently went unnoticed.

So, FOX 8 went to the top, catching up with Director of Port Control Bryant Francis after a Cleveland City Council hearing.

For the first time, he answered questions on camera.

Police say last month a worker at Hopkins found a woman inside an aircraft maintenance building. Police say the woman had been in a secure area for hours.

“How did that security breach go undetected for so long?” FOX 8 asked Francis.

“That’s an understandable question,” he answered. “The reality is, this incident is still under investigation. So, there are still a lot of things we need to understand, work through, figure out.”

The incident even temporarily shut down air traffic. Travelers FOX 8 talked to wondered how Hopkins security broke down.

“What is still under investigation, or still unknown? Or, how much of this is still unknown?” we asked.

“That, I can’t speak to either. What I can say, there is a federal process,” he said.

Bryant Francis was very guarded, but before now, the airport said even less. Earlier, a statement said the airport has layers of security and there was a “timely” response.

Yet, police say the intruder got into the secure area at 3 a.m. and didn’t get caught until 6 a.m.
Wednesday morning, April Ford went before a county judge pleading not guilty.

A complaint filed by police says she “did breach the security fence,” however, that complaint does not say how she did that.

Records show Ford had been on the run before getting hauled in for court. At her hearing, she said little.

Though at one point, she was asked, “Ms. Ford, do you have money to hire your own lawyer?”

“I don’t have no money,” she said.

The judge also did not order her held in jail despite having been wanted on a warrant before the hearing.

The airport director referred FOX 8 to the feds, but the Transportation Security Administration referred them back to Hopkins.

Looking ahead, what about fixing the security gap this case exposed?

“I am committed to making sure we understand what occurred and what we can do even better, even stronger as it relates to our security plan,” Francis said.

Still, a month after a security breach so much about the investigation is still a mystery.