Passenger used suspected fake boarding pass to sneak onto United flight, forcing plane back to gate, authorities say
A man was found hiding in a United Airlines plane’s bathroom last month after police say he slipped past TSA and gate agents using what appeared to be a fake boarding pass, according to Texas authorities. It wasn’t the first time someone stowed away on a flight this year.
Abdulrahman Oriyomi, 25, was charged with felony impairing or interrupting operation of a critical infrastructure facility last week and was booked into jail in Harris County, Texas, on Friday, according to court records. CNN has reached out to Oriyomi’s attorney.
Once he successfully boarded the United Airlines plane at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Oriyomi tried to sit in an empty aisle seat, according to a criminal complaint. A woman seated nearby told investigators he acted like he wasn’t sure if it was his seat, stood back up and went to one of the plane’s restrooms. When he returned 15 minutes later, other passengers were seated there, police say the passenger told them. Oriyomi then went to another bathroom on the plane, the complaint alleges.
When the plane began to pull away from the gate, the passenger alerted flight attendants that someone was in the restroom. A flight attendant knocked on the restroom door, found Oriyomi, and then told him to return to his seat, according to the complaint.
A few minutes later, the flight attendant found Oriyomi in another restroom. At this point, the attendant asked Oriyomi for his name, to which he said his name was Mr. Lopez, the complaint said.
Oriyomi tried to find an open seat, but the plane was full. Unsuccessful, he asked attendants if he could sit in the plane’s “jump seat,” the complaint said.
Flight attendants then checked the manifest, didn’t see a Mr. Lopez registered for the flight and realized Oriyomi was an unauthorized passenger, according to the complaint. They notified the flight crew and captain, and the plane then returned to the gate.