A Food Delivery Driver Somehow Ended Up on the Tarmac at O'Hare and Drove Across Active Runways

CBS News — Travelers at O'Hare are likely familiar with the sight of cars coming through to pick up and drop off passengers. Anyone caught stopping for too long is told to keep it moving.

The tight ship run at pickup and drop-off makes what happened around noon Saturday highly confusing. A DoorDash driver drove through secured areas before someone realized he wasn't supposed to be there.

A source told CBS News Chicago the delivery driver drove miles along the interior and restricted roads at O'Hare — potentially crossing runways — before someone spotted him from the air traffic control tower.

I'm not an aviation expert, but I've been to a number of airports throughout the world in my time and I have yet to come across one where it seemed possible to drive onto the tarmac. Not that I've ever wanted to, but I didn't even know that was an option.

As it turns out, if you know the right turns to make, you can just drive right out onto an active runway at one of the busiest airports in the world and nobody will stop you until you pull up at a gate. It feels like there should be a few fences between baggage claim and the tarmac, but maybe that's just me.

What I really want to know is who ordered food to the airport. This driver is continually referred to as a "delivery driver", which has to mean he was actively making a delivery. Otherwise, you're just a driver.

So who is the madman who looked around at the dozens of restaurants surrounding him at O'Hare and decided to see if a DoorDash driver would show up? Was it a pilot and that's how the driver ended up right next to a plane? We need answers.

The good news is for those who have a fear of flying, it seems like you're far more likely these days to t-bone a Mazda or another plane on the runway than have anything happen in the air. So if you make it into the sky without hitting a DoorDash driver, you'll be fine.