SALT LAKE CITY (KTVX) — A Texas man is the subject of a federal investigation after he allegedly boarded a Delta Air Lines flight at the Salt Lake International Airport without a proper ticket on Sunday.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI, 26-year-old Wicliff Fleurizard of George, Texas, was removed from Austin-bound Delta Flight 1683.
Fleurizard, who allegedly told authorities he had been in Park City, Utah, for a snowboarding trip, said he needed to get home to see family who had flown in from Florida. The complaint states that Fleurizard was given a “buddy pass” from a friend to board a flight with Southwest Airlines, which he used to get through security at the airport.
“Buddy passes” are discounted tickets airline employees can share with friends. These passengers are generally able to hop on a flight as long as there is an open seat.
However, the FBI’s criminal complaint explained the Southwest Airlines flight was full, so Fleurizard reportedly left the boarding area and went to a Delta gate instead.
Federal investigators said security footage then showed Fleurizard using his phone to take pictures of boarding passes belonging to other passengers, and then using his phone to board the plane. Fleurizard allegedly spent a significant amount of time in the plane’s restrooms while the flight began to taxi toward the runway.
When crews found Fleurizard did not have a legitimate boarding pass for the Delta flight, the plane returned to the gate and he was contacted by law enforcement, the complaint says.
Fleurizard allegedly admitted to authorities that he “had made a mistake” and was “only trying to get home.” He faces one federal charge for stowing away on an aircraft.
A spokesperson for Salt Lake International Airport told Nexstar’s KTVX they were unaware of the incident and deferred to Delta Air Lines for comment.
In a statement to KTVX, Delta said is it “cooperating with law enforcement and relevant federal agencies regarding an investigation into a non-ticketed individual being escorted off DL1863 on March 17 aircraft in Salt Lake City prior to a scheduled departure. We defer any additional questions to law enforcement.”
The incident marks the second instance this year of a person attempting to board a plane without a ticket, after a woman was able to bypass a TSA security checkpoint at Nashville International Airport and board a flight to Los Angeles without a boarding pass in February.