Stowaway who boarded Paris flight bypassed checkpoints by jumping into different security lines, TSA says
A Russian woman who on a flight from New York to Paris last week was able to sneak through the security checkpoint by starting off in a lane reserved for airline flight crews, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
A TSA spokesperson tells CNN the 57-year-old woman first bypassed an airport terminal employee in charge of the line for the Known Crewmember checkpoint at John F. Kennedy International Airport바카라 게임 웹사이트s terminal 4 main checkpoint. She then joined the line for standard TSA screening. It was at that point that the woman bypassed stations where her ID and boarding pass would have been checked, the spokesperson said.
This is the most detailed account yet of how she was able to elude security checks and make her way onto the flight.
Once the woman proceeded to the gate, she placed herself in the middle of what appeared to be a family traveling together, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.
Investigators believe a contributing factor may have been the massive holiday weekend crowds at the airport. The TSA said it screened on that Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
The new information on how the woman got past security comes after Delta Air Lines refused to allow her to fly back to New York Tuesday, delaying her return flight until Wednesday, a Paris airport official told CNN.
The woman was due to leave France on a flight at 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET) Tuesday. She was on board the plane when Delta refused to fly her, according to the official.
When contacted by CNN for details, Delta declined to comment or say why the woman was not allowed to fly. 바카라 게임 웹사이트We are going to try to send her back again with a French escort,바카라 게임 웹사이트 the French official said.
She is now scheduled to fly back to New York바카라 게임 웹사이트s John F. Kennedy International Airport escorted by two French security officials on a Delta flight Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. local time, according to the official.
The woman was originally scheduled to be returned to the United States on a Delta flight Saturday afternoon. But after she boarded the plane she started screaming, and French authorities , according to an official. She was then rebooked on Tuesday바카라 게임 웹사이트s flight.
A man who was on the plane Saturday told CNN the woman was sitting across the aisle from him and his family.
바카라 게임 웹사이트She kept on saying 바카라 게임 웹사이트I do not want to go back to the USA. Only a judge can make me go back to the USA,바카라 게임 웹사이트바카라 게임 웹사이트 Gary Treichler said.
The woman was expected to be accompanied by six U.S. marshals on Tuesday바카라 게임 웹사이트s flight back to New York, authorities said.
Inspectors from the TSA are preparing a civil case against the stowaway after reviewing airport security video from inside John F. Kennedy International Airport, agency spokesperson Alexa Lopez told CNN.
바카라 게임 웹사이트The TSA will open civil cases against passengers when there바카라 게임 웹사이트s evidence that procedures may have been violated,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Lopez said. The TSA cannot bring criminal charges, though it can refer them to the Justice Department. It바카라 게임 웹사이트s unclear whether any criminal charges will be filed.
Delta has not said how the woman was able to board the plane once she made it past the TSA checkpoint.
The airline said it 바카라 게임 웹사이트is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred,바카라 게임 웹사이트 but declined further comment.
TSA Administrator David Pekoske said Tuesday the agency occasionally has 바카라 게임 웹사이트a very, very small number바카라 게임 웹사이트 of people who skip the identity verification stage. Speaking at the Aviation Security Summit of the American Association of Airport Executives, Pekoske suggested electronic gates might be a solution to making sure everyone gets screened.
Correction: An earlier version of this story identified the wrong law enforcement agency whose officers accompanied the stowaway. The US Marshals denied any involvement, but it wasn바카라 게임 웹사이트t immediately clear which agency a Paris official was referencing.