A Texas man is accused of using a fake boarding pass to get on a United Airlines flight before he was found hiding in a restroom, forcing the plane back to the gate before it could take off at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, court documents say.
The 25-year-old Houston man was discovered on the plane bound for Los Angeles in mid-May as it was taxiing to a runway when a passenger alerted a flight attendant, according to authorities.
He was charged last week with impairing or interrupting operation of critical infrastructure facility. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney Monday.
Surveillance cameras showed the man first having trouble with his boarding pass at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint when he arrived at the Houston airport early on May 18, according to a criminal complaint.
He was eventually screened at the checkpoint and then tried to board a different flight to LA, but he was turned away when he tried to scan his pass, the complaint said.
About two hours later, the man went to another gate and waited until United employees who were checking boarding passes became distracted, the court document said. He then pretended to show his pass, walked by the employees and boarded the plane, the complaint said.
TSA said in a statement that the man first presented a valid boarding pass and went through standard screening and did not have any prohibited items. It referred other questions to Houston police and United Airlines. United referred all questions to law enforcement.
Once onboard the flight, the man tried to find a seat before going into a bathroom and a passenger noticed and told a flight attendant, the complaint said. He gave the flight attendant a fake name and then it was discovered he was not a passenger on the flight, the court document said.
Everyone on the flight had to get off the plane while it was checked for explosives, delaying its departure by three hours, the complaint said.
A United employee later told authorities the man had made a reservation, but it was canceled because he did not pay for it, the court document said.
He did show Houston police a confirmation number on his phone and what looked like a boarding pass, but a United employee told authorities the pass was fake and could not have been obtained without payment, the complaint said.
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