A Texas man was detained after boarding a Delta Air Lines flight in Salt Lake City on Sunday without a ticket by photographing another passenger’s boarding card when they were not looking, as per court filings.
Wicliff Yves Fleurizard, 26, is charged with one count of stowing away on a vessel or aircraft, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Utah on Monday.
Security footage from Salt Lake City International Airport shows Fleurizard taking images of many customers’ phones and boarding credentials while they were not looking, then using his own phone to board the trip to Austin, Texas, according to the complaint.
Once on the plane, Fleurizard went to the front lavatory and spent “a significant amount of time” there while other passengers boarded, according to the complaint.
“After boarding was complete and just before the aircraft doors were secured, Fleurizard exited the front lavatory and made his way to the back of the aircraft and entered the aft lavatory,” according to the report.
When he exited the lavatory, a flight attendant observed there were no open seats and approached Fleurizard to assist him, according to the complaint, which stated that the jet had already pushed back from the gate and begun taxiing down the runway.
Fleurizard informed the flight attendant that his seat was 21F, but the crew member confirmed that the person who booked the ticket for that seat was already seated in it, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, once flight attendants learned Fleurizard’s real name and discovered he did not have a ticket or booking reservation, the jet returned to the gate and he was met by law enforcement.
Fleurizard told officers he was in Park City, Utah, for a snowboarding trip and “needed to get home to see his family,” according to the documents. According to the complaint, he was booked on a Southwest Airlines flight early Sunday, but the flight was overbooked, so he was rescheduled for a later flight.
“Fleurizard admitted he had made a mistake and was only trying to get home,” the complaint read.
According to authorities, he is being held at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail under a federal detainer.
Delta Air Lines spokesperson Morgan Durrant stated that the airline is working on the investigation.
“Delta is working with law enforcement and appropriate government agencies on an investigation into a non-ticketed individual who was taken off an aircraft in Salt Lake City before a planned departure. “We defer any further questions to law enforcement,” Durrant stated.