Authorities released video showing how one man allegedly slipped through security at Salt Lake City International Airport and made it on a plane without a ticket Sunday.
Wicliff Fleurizard allegedly hid inside the plane’s bathroom during the Delta flight, which was fully occupied, before he was arrested Sunday for allegedly sneaking onboard, 2KUTV reported.
Footage appeared to show Fleurizard taking photos of other passengers’ boarding passes before allegedly sneaking onto Flight 1683.
Flight attendants “noticed that there were no seats available” when the suspect exited the bathroom, 2KUTV reported. Fleurizard reportedly did not have a valid ticket or booking reservation with the flight or any other Delta flights.
📹VIDEO shows Wicliff Fleurizard at @slcairport taking pictures of other travelers’ boarding passes.
He was arrested after trying to board a flight to Austin, TX without a valid boarding pass. He was hiding in the lavatories of the plane when the flight was full. pic.twitter.com/MLgM8Org8A
— 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐞 (@brian_schnee) March 22, 2024
Police arrested Fleurizard after the flight, which had already “begun to taxi the runway,” diverted back to the gate, according to the outlet. Federal authorizes detained the suspect and booked him into Salt Lake County Jail. (RELATED: At Least 50 Injured After ‘Technical Event’ Mid-Flight, Authorities Say)
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) revealed that Fleurizard was screened without incident despite not having a valid ticket for the flight bound for Austin. However, Fleurizard did have a ticket for a Southwest Airlines flight, according to a criminal complaint, 2KUTV reported.
Fleurizard used a “buddy pass” from Southwest Airlines to clear security before arriving at the gate, where he learned the flight was fully booked, the complaint stated. The suspect reportedly said he had to return to his Texas home because family members would be arriving from Florida after his snowboarding trip in Park City.
Former TSA administrator John Pistole told CBS News that the airport’s safety system partially worked in the incident.
“The system worked in the terms of the outcome, but not in terms of how it’s designed to prevent people from boarding a plane without their own boarding pass,” Pistole said.