SAXONBURG — A Butler Township man accused of driving onto the runway at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport in Penn Township is headed for trial.

Brian M. Powers, 36, is charged with a top count of risking a catastrophe, a felony, in connection with the incident in November. He also is charged with a misdemeanor count of trespass and summary charges of disorderly conduct and trespass by vehicle.

District Judge Sue Haggerty ordered Powers held for court on all charges at a preliminary hearing Wednesday in Saxonburg.

Powers' attorney, however, argued that his client was not looking to cause any harm, but that he simply got lost looking for a restaurant.

Middlesex Township police officer Michael Hartman was the lone witness to testify at the hearing. He said he encountered Powers two times within an hour Nov. 17 at or in the vicinity of the airport in Penn Township.

Middlesex Township has a mutual-aid agreement with neighboring Penn Township police.

The first call around 10 p.m. was for a suspicious person, Hartman said.

The officer was advised the suspect “followed a LifeFlight crew member into the Butler airport and was asking questions about how to access the Butler County Airport.”

LifeFlight is a regional emergency helicopter service that has one of its bases at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport on Airport Road.

Responding to the call, Hartman found the defendant in his car at the Rath Farm driveway off Three Degree Road. The officer noted that the farm abuts the airport.

“Mr. Powers told me that a friend of his said there was a way to get back to the Butler County Airport from the Rath Farm,” Hartman testified, “indicating he was back there trying to gain access to the airport (from Three Degree Road).”

The officer advised Powers that airport officials take security matters seriously, and the defendant was told to leave the area.

But around 11 p.m., police got another call, this one reporting “a vehicle being on the tarmac” at the airport. Because of that, all aviation traffic at the airport was halted.

Hartman had to make an unusual traffic stop, driving though the LifeFlight gate at the airport and traveling across the runway. He eventually stopped Powers' car on a dead-end access way by the hangar.

During the investigation, police determined that Powers likely accessed the runway from an inadvertently opened gate at Three Degree Road.

“We're thinking the possibility that ice and snow got over the top of the sensor,” Hartman told Powers' attorney, county public defender Ryan Helsel, on cross-examination, “and wouldn't allow the gate to shut.”

Still, the officer noted that there are posted signs warning unauthorized persons to stay away.

“Did he make any statements to you about going to a restaurant?” Helsel asked.

“Yes, he said he was lost looking for a restaurant called the Runway,” Hartman replied, “which I believe he was referencing to being Serventi's.”

The restaurant, Serventi's on the Runway, is on the second floor of the airport offices.

“Would it be reasonable to think that maybe (Powers) went through an open gate and he was looking to gain access over to the restaurant?” Helsel asked.

“It's still a gated area,” Hartman responded, “and an average person would think you're not allowed to go through there.”

Following the traffic stop, Hartman said he told the defendant to get out of his car. Powers complied, but only to a point.

The officer said that when he grabbed Powers' right wrist to place him in handcuffs, the defendant “pulled away” two separate times. After the second time, Hartman drew his Taser and ordered Powers to the ground.

The officer said he found no evidence that the defendant was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He also reported that Powers caused no damage to the airport that night, and that there were no flights diverted because of the incident.

Helsel asked Hartman why he charged the defendant with risking a catastrophe.

“We had to shut down the entire runway to incoming flights, outgoing flights,“ the officer said, “and doing so, that could have prevented (an airplane) that was having mechanical problems from landing on a safe runway.”

The closed airport also could have prevented LifeFlight from assisting in a medical emergency situation.

Following testimony, Helsel unsuccessfully asked Haggerty to dismiss the top charge, arguing that the evidence did not justify it.

Powers remains free on $5,000 unsecured bail.