A Delta Air Lines passenger bound for Austin was arrested as a stowaway after being caught while the plane was taxiing out to takeoff from Salt Lake City International Airport.
Wicliff Yves Fleurizard was trying to get home from a snowboarding trip to Park City, Utah. On Saturday he tried using a Southwest Airlines buddy pass but flights were full. So he changed his approach for Sunday.
- He snapped a photo of the boarding pass of a child traveling alone
- Then he used it to board Delta flight 1683
When the minor tried to board, the airline’s system flagged that they’d already boarded. But since the child was obviously standing there – not on the plane – they overrode it and allowed them onto the aircraft.
The problem was that the Airbus A320 was full. The man attracted attention by opening an emergency equipment door, but a flight attendant dismissed it as searching for the lavatory – where he ultimately concealed himself through the rest of the boarding process. Then, once everyone was on board, he went looking for an open seat. The problem was there weren’t any.
Cabin crew saw the man without a seat, and discovered that not only didn’t he have a reservation for the flight he did not have a reservation for any Delta flight. By that time the plane was already taxiing out. They didn’t wait for all passengers to be seated. So the aircraft turned around to offload the man, where he was detained by police.
There, he admitted what he’d done. And now, facing charges that could potentially come with five years in prison, he realizes that he chose poorly. Snowboarding in Park City Utah is great, but not worth what it will potentially cost him.
(HT: Paddle Your Own Kanoo)
“Boarding as a child” got me confused then I understood what happened after I read the article.
What an idiot!
I hope this clown gets a prison sentence for several years!
BTW: I wonder if this clown jeopardized the FA who gave him the Buddy Pass in the first place???
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes…
Looks like this person was arrested for domestic assualt last year too.
He might have been a snowboarder. Now he’s a no boarder.
So what we’ve learned here is anyone can fly for free as long as the flight isn’t full? Apparently I’ve been doing this wrong!
Gate agent screwed up… the system did as it should and flagged as “already boarded.” I’ve had agents who did that, and flew a wrong person to the wrong city (there were open seats). They got fired too. Not only violation of airline policy but TSA, and could be FAA depending on the airline’s weight and balance program not to mention inaccurate manifest. Agent should have stopped and verified the boarding pass and/or ID, or at least checked on the plane.
He can afford outrageously priced lift tickets but can’t afford a plane ticket?
If convicted, the snow boarder is up to get some expensive, taxpayer-funded free room and board.
Delta offers premium travel to affluent, discerning guests.
He probably scammed for free lift tickets, too. Snow boarding need a number of things. A snowboard. Clothing and footwear. Transportation to and from the mountain along with a ticket at the mountain. Food and drink. A place to stay if staying for extra days. Equipment rentals can cover some of it but that requires cash or credit or some sort of freebies or some sort of scam.
Sorry to pile on the snowboarder, but I was in line at Deer Valley, (Park City, they only allow skiers) right before lift opening a few years ago, and the line guy joked:
“What’s the difference between a pepperoni pizza and a Snowboarding instructor?”
Answer: A pepperoni pizza can actually feed a family of four!
😉
-Jon
This is the dude.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wicliff-fleurizard-mba-5a9a38156/
Supposedly an MBA working at Apple in the ATX. We’ll see how much longer.
Whose boarding pass did he use to get airside at the airport when dealing with the TSA mandated passenger ID check? Maybe he had one for himself, perhaps with a refundable ticket.
It seems like he may have photographed multiple unassociated people’s boarding passes and just happened to have used the UAM’s boarding pass and thus heightened the risk of being caught. If I had seen such photographing behavior, I would assume it would be part and parcel of either mischief by cancelling/changing itineraries or trying to harvest or otherwise misuse frequent flyer miles.
The Southwest employee is probably not to blame in this incident. The stow away didn’t cheat Southwest. However, all of the employees should be made aware of the consequences of giving out “buddy passes”. I tell people who would like a buddy pass, “No! You will hate me forever when you can’t get to and from where you want to go. Buddy passes are “toxic gifts”. However, Delta and/or the government should prosecute this clown to the fullest extent AND he’s banned from flying…ALL AIRLINES!
@Matt That was a cheap and gratuitous slap at my employer
“I am currently a student at Florida A&M…My dream is to one day become the CFO of a major company. I want to be a leader in the Accounting/ Business world one day and change the narrative for African Americans.” I guess this is his George Bush “Mission Accomplished” moment,