Stowaway discovered on Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Paris
A stowaway has been discovered onboard a Delta Air Lines flight heading from New York to Paris. The individual involved was reportedly arrested upon the aircraft’s arrival in Paris and the authorities are now investigating how such an incident could have occurred.
The stowaway, a female of unknown age, was discovered as the flight carrying flight number DL 264 headed to Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) from New York-JFK Airport on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. The flight was being operated by one of the carrier’s 21-strong fleet of Boeing 767-400s, registered N838MH. According to reports, the woman was discovered while the aircraft was en route between the two cities, with the crew electing to proceed as planned to their destination. Upon landing, the stowaway was taken into custody by officials from the French police.
Flightradar24A first-class passenger posted on social media that flight attendants became suspicious of the individual who was seen walking from one bathroom to another during the flight. The unidentified stowaway was eventually discovered in one of the bathrooms by a flight attendant toward the end of the more than seven-hour flight, according to the passenger.
In an audio clip posted on social media by one of the other passengers onboard DL264, the captain can be heard over the public address after the plane had landed in Paris, “We’re just waiting for the police to come on board, they may be here now, and they’ve directed us to keep everyone on the airplane until we sort out the extra passenger that’s on the plane.”
A full investigation is now underway as to how the woman involved evaded all of the security measures at JFK Airport and boarded the Delta Air Lines flight to Paris without a valid boarding card. The stowaway’s identity or any further details about her have not yet been released by the authorities either in the US or France.
A Transportation Security Administration source told CBS News in the US that the woman went through an advanced imaging technology body scanner at a checkpoint in JFK Airport after “somehow appearing to evade the document and ID check portion of the TSA process”. Her bags were also scanned for prohibited items before she went to the gate and snuck onto the flight, the source said.
Bjoern Wylezich / ShutterstockIn a statement provided to CBS News, a TSA spokesperson said that it could “confirm that an individual without a boarding pass completed the airport security screening without any prohibited items. The individual bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and was able to board the aircraft.”
As is commonplace in most airports in the world in the modern age, for passengers to be even at an airline departure gate to board an aircraft, that individual must have cleared a TSA security checkpoint. The investigation will therefore have to determine how the woman boarded the Boeing 767 without showing any Delta gate staff a valid boarding card. With the annual Thanksgiving getaway currently underway in the US, and with security staff stretched, this could certainly form one line of inquiry.
“Nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and security,” Delta said in a statement issued about the apparent breach of security. “That’s why Delta is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred and will work collaboratively with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to that end.”
French law enforcement authorities as well as the Transport Security Administration (TSA) in the US have both launched separate investigations. The TSA is responsible for operating security checkpoints at all major US airports. According to a statement, the TSA said that the woman “could be subject to a civil penalty or fine for bypassing the document check process.”
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The post Stowaway discovered on Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Paris appeared first on AeroTime.
A stowaway has been discovered onboard a Delta Air Lines flight heading from New York to Paris. The…
The post Stowaway discovered on Delta Air Lines flight from New York to Paris appeared first on AeroTime.
