A Texas man allegedly snuck onto a Delta Airlines flight in Salt Lake City using a snapshot of a passenger's boarding pass – he was only caught because the flight was entirely booked and he had nowhere to sit, according to federal prosecutors.
Wicliff Yves Fleurizard of George, Texas, now faces a felony charge for being a stowaway on an aircraft, according to a police affidavit filed in federal district court.
Security footage from Salt Lake City's Department of Airports shows Fleurizard chatting with a male passenger beside him as groups were called to board the Austin-bound plane on March 17.
As the man stands up and unfurls his folded pass, Fleurizard can be seen pulling out his smartphone and snapping a photo. He then shakes the man's hand and lines up to board the plane.
The Texas man was seen on the footage allegedly photographing several other passengers' phones and passes at gate A2 of Salt Lake City International Airport when they weren't looking, according to the affidavit.
After boarding the craft, Fleurizard opened a door to a storage space for emergency equipment. A flight attendant, thinking he was confused, helped him to the lavatory at the front of the plane, according to the affidavit.
WITH ALL THE RECENT HEADLINES ABOUT PANELS AND TIRES FALLING OFF PLANES, IS FLYING SAFE?
Fleurizard spent a "significant amount of time" in the bathroom and did not lock the door. He then moved to the lavatory at the back of the plane as other passengers continued to mill inside, documents said.
He told a flight attendant that he was assigned to seat 21F as the plane began to taxi down the runway – but there was already someone else, a girl traveling alone, in that seat.
US TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES PROBE INTO HANDLING OF PASSENGER PERSONAL DATA BY AIRLINES
The flight attendant determined that the girl was a ticketed passenger, and that Fleurizard's name didn't pop up in records for the flight "or any other Delta flight for that matter," according to the document.
The plane was forced to return to the gate where Salt Lake City Police officers waited to arrest Fleurizard.
According to the affidavit, a friend gave Fleurizard a buddy pass for Southwest Airlines, but a flight the day before and a second flight earlier on March 17 were full. He had been rebooked on a flight later that day.
Fleurizard said he had been in Utah for a snowboarding trip and was in a hurry to meet family members visiting him at his Texas home from Florida.
"Fleurizard admitted he had made a mistake and was only trying to get home," a Salt Lake City Police officer wrote in their affidavit.
