Prosecutors in Salt Lake City detained Wicliff Yves Fleurizard, a man from Texas, for attempting to board a Delta Air Lines aircraft without a ticket by utilizing a photograph he had secretly taken of another passenger’s boarding permit. The charge was filed in the U.S. District Court in Utah, and Fleurizard is facing one felony count of stowaways aboard boats or airplanes. He is being detained at the Salt Lake County Metro Jail.
Fleurizard went to the front-of-the-plane restroom after boarding a Delta trip to Austin, Texas. Only as the plane was ready to taxi to the runway did a flight attendant see no available seats upon his return. Fleurizard said that his designated seat, 21F, was already occupied. Flight attendants discovered Fleurizard wasn’t permitted to be on board when they couldn’t locate him on the manifest; thus, the plane made an unscheduled return to the gate.
A snowboarding excursion had taken Fleurizard to Park City, Utah, and he needed to get home to visit his family, he informed the police. Southwest Airlines allegedly gave him a “buddy pass” through a mutual acquaintance. His attempt to board a Southwest aircraft at 3 p.m. on Saturday might have been successful had the flight not been packed. The following Sunday, he attempted to return home at 6 a.m. Southwest flight, but that aircraft was likewise filled.
Security at Salt Lake City International Airport checked Fleurizard’s photo ID and boarding pass without incident on Sunday, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
Fleurizard was caught on camera stealing images from many passengers’ phones at a Delta Air Lines boarding area, as they were unaware. Although the FBI would neither confirm nor deny the existence of any investigation, it did state that it was looking into the matter. As of Wednesday afternoon, court records did not yet include an attorney for Fleurizard.
Delta Air Lines cooperates with law enforcement and relevant federal agencies to investigate the nonticketed individual.
Several similar incidents with unticketed people boarding aircraft in the US and abroad have occurred in recent months.
