A Texas man was arrested Sunday in Salt Lake City after he boarded a Delta Air Lines flight without a ticket using a photo he took of another passenger's boarding pass, according to court documents.
Wycliffe Yves Fleurisard, 26, faces one felony count of stowaway on ships or aircraft, according to a complaint filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Utah. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail, the Salt Lake City Police Department said.
On Sunday, after boarding a Delta flight to Austin, Texas, Mr. According to the federal complaint, Fleurisard went to the lavatory at the front of the plane and remained there until the plane was fully boarded and the doors secured.
Mr. Fleurizard then headed toward the back of the plane and went into a restroom there, according to court records. When he got out, as the plane was about to taxi to the runway, a flight attendant noticed there were no open seats, court records show.
Flight Attendant Mr. He asked Fleurisard where his seat was and he said 21F, which the complaint said was already taken. The flight attendants on their manifest have Mr. After not being able to locate Fluorisard, they realized he was not authorized to be on the flight and the flight returned to the gate, according to the complaint.
Mr. Fleurizard told police he was on a skiing trip in Park City, Utah, and needed to go home to see his family, according to the complaint. He complained that he had been given a Southwest Airlines “buddy pass” by a friend.
Mr. Fleurisard told police he tried to board a Southwest flight at 3 p.m. Saturday, but the plane was full, according to court documents. He then tried to fly home on a Southwest flight at 6 a.m. Sunday, but that flight was also full, according to court documents.
At Salt Lake City International Airport on Sunday, using a photo ID and boarding pass, Mr. The Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday that the fluriscard was screened by security officials.
In the Delta Air Lines boarding area, Mr. Surveillance footage from Sunday showed Fluorisard taking photos while they weren't looking. Mr. to get on the Delta flight. The footage later showed Flurisard using his phone.
Mr. Fleurizard “admitted that he had made a mistake and was trying to get home,” the complaint said.
The FBI said Wednesday it was investigating the episode, but declined to provide further details.
In court records as of Wednesday afternoon, Mr. No attorney is listed for Flurizard.
Delta Air Lines said in a statement Sunday that it is “cooperating with law enforcement and relevant federal agencies regarding the investigation into the person who did not receive a ticket.”
In the past few months, there have been similar incidents of passengers boarding flights without tickets in the US and abroad.
In February, a woman boarded a plane in Nashville and flew to Los Angeles without a ticket. In November, a man made it through security at Copenhagen Airport in Denmark and carried only Russian and Israeli ID cards in his bag to Los Angeles International Airport.
