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A man stowed away on board Delta Air Lines flight DL1683 from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) to Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) on March 17th. He cleverly took a photo of a child’s boarding pass and used it to board the plane after clearing security with a Southwest “buddy pass.”
26-year-old, Wicliff Yves Fleurizard, did not clear the standby lists for several Southwest flights. He was returning home from a ski trip in Park City, UT and decided that he needed to get creative. He snapped photos of several passengers phones and managed to get a good enough shot of the child’s boarding pass.
Fox 13 reports that court documents state that after he boarded the flight, “Fleurizard spent a significant amount of time in the lavatory while others were boarding and he did not lock the door while occupying the lavatory.” Right before flight attendants closed the aircraft’s doors, he made his way from the lavatory in the front of the plane to the one in the back. When he reemerged, a flight attendant noticed that there were no empty seats and stopped him to help him find his seat. When he did not have one, the plane stopped taxiing and returned to the gate.
Police met Fleurizard and arrested him in the airport. He is now being held on a federal detainer at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail and could face as much as five years in prison for his deceit. Flights are almost all at capacity (or over it) during the busy Spring Break period in March and April. This man might have gotten away with sneaking onto the aircraft had there been an empty seat for him. Since there were no seats, it was easy to detect the interloper.
Delta issued the following statement:
Delta is cooperating with law enforcement and relevant federal agencies regarding an investigation into a non-ticketed individual being escorted off DL1863 on March 17 aircraft in Salt Lake City prior to a scheduled departure,” the statement reads. “We defer any additional questions to law enforcement.”
Anthony’s Take: This is a dumb idea. He initially got onto the aircraft, but his ruse was discovered and he landed in jail versus getting back to Austin. Now, he faces all sorts of possible penalties. Was it really worth the cost of a plane ticket?
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