Texas person boards Delta flight working with picture of a different passenger’s ticket

A Texas guy was arrested soon after he boarded a Delta Air Traces flight in Utah using a picture of an additional passenger’s ticket, authorities say.

Wicliff Yves Fleurizard, 26, faces a demand of stowaway on an aircraft following he boarded Delta Flight 1683 at Salt Lake Metropolis Worldwide Airport on March 17, bound for Austin, Texas.

Fleurizard had been in Utah for a snowboarding journey but was seeking to get again to his home in George, Texas, as he had family from Florida traveling to, according to his felony complaint filed in the U.S. district court docket of Utah.

He experienced been booked on a Southwest flight but was afterwards rebooked, as the flight was whole.

As an alternative of ready for the up coming Southwest flight, he went into the Delta place of the airport, exactly where he was viewed on surveillance footage using photographs of a number of passenger’s telephones and their boarding passes while they have been not hunting. He then utilised the images on his personal mobile phone to ultimately board Flight 1683.

Fleurizard boarded the flight and entered the bathroom in the front of the aircraft, where by he spent a “significant amount of money of time” as other individuals have been boarding.

Soon after boarding was finish, Fleurizard created his way to the back bathroom.

When Fleurizard exited, a flight attendant noticed that there were being no seats readily available on the plane and approached him. But at that stage, the plane doorways experienced been secured and the plane had started to taxi to the runway. 

Fleurizard told a flight attendant that his seat was 21F, but the flight attendant confirmed that 21F belonged to yet another particular person.

Flight attendants acquired his identify and have been not able to track down a valid ticket or reservation for him on that Delta flight or any other Delta flight.

The aircraft ended up returning to the gate, where by Fleurizard deplaned and was achieved by legislation enforcement.

Authorities interviewed a Delta gate agent who stated that a minimal feminine passenger traveling by itself experienced an problem when the gate agent tried to scan her ticket. When her boarding go was scanned, the method showed that she was presently on board. Fleurizard was noticed in surveillance footage snapping a photo of that girl’s cellphone.

He advised authorities that he had been supplied a Southwest buddy move ticket for March 16, but there were being no accessible seats on board so he was rebooked for March 17. The next flight finished up remaining overbooked so he was rebooked for afterwards that very same working day. But Fleurizard ended up leaving the Southwest boarding location and went into the Delta place.

“Fleurizard admitted he had produced a blunder and was only attempting to get home,” the grievance stated.

The Transportation Stability Administration claimed that Fleurizard experienced been screened at the airport on March 17 without having incident working with a image ID that matched the identify on the boarding go.

Delta stated it is cooperating with law enforcement and federal agencies in the investigation.

Fleurizard has an energetic warrant out of Austin, Texas, courtroom documents stated. It’s unclear what the warrant is for, but Austin police flagged him as “one getting ‘violent tendencies.’”

He is being held in Salt Lake County on a federal detainer, in accordance to on the net scheduling records.

It’s not immediately clear if Fleurizard has retained an attorney.