SEATTLE, Wash. — A fake name and a full plane: KIRO 7 obtained new court documents that explain how Delta Airlines discovered a passenger without a ticket onboard a Christmas Eve flight.
Not enough seats
The incident happened on Delta flight 487 from Seattle to Honolulu, causing a several-hour delay for passengers on Dec. 24.
According to the documents, the flight crew noticed there was one passenger too many after the door was closed, and everyone was seated— except for one person with a confirmed ticket. The customer service agent said a woman was sitting in the passenger’s seat.
According to the documents, the agent asked the woman for her name and identification, but she gave him a fake last name ‘Smith’ and said she didn’t have her ID on her.
The agent reviewed the list of ticketed passengers and told the woman there was no one with the name she provided. The agent then pressed the woman about how she got onto the aircraft. The agent told police that the woman avoided his questions and walked away, off the aircraft and through the airport to a nearby restroom.
Getting through security
How did the woman manage to get through airport security without a ticket? According to the court documents, the Port of Seattle Police reviewed security footage and discovered she slipped through a divider line at Checkpoint 3 the day night before. Around 9:00 p.m. on Dec. 23, the footage reportedly shows the woman bypass the portion of screening where TSA agents check ID and boarding passes.
Documents state the woman then proceeded through the metal detector and was screened before she entered the secure side of the airport.
“It should be noted that I observed the female get into line as if to board a flight at least two times,” the documents read.
Getting onto the flight
After being discovered on Delta flight 487, court documents state that customer service agents reviewed security footage and saw the woman walk next to a passenger as he scanned his ticket and into the jet bridge.
The delay
The Port of Seattle Police Department says the incident resulted in a three-hour delay for approximately 200 passengers. The court documents state that everyone had to deplane so a K-9 could sweep the aircraft to rule out a potential bomb threat. The K-9 also had to sweep the areas of the airport where Small was seen wandering.
The arrest
According to the court documents, the woman told police she was from San Francisco and had come to Seattle via Amtrak to visit her boyfriend a few weeks prior.
The woman reportedly told the officer that her boyfriend ordered her the ticket, and walked her through security, then to the gate before leaving.
When the officer asked the woman for her name, documents state she said it was ‘Maria Smith’ and said it was spelled ‘S-M-I-T-H’ or ‘C-H.’
“Based on my training and experience, not knowing how to spell a given name usually suggests that a subject is lying about their name,” the officer wrote in their report.
The officer called the woman’s alleged boyfriend who, according to court documents, stated that he denied knowing a ‘Maria Smith’.
Because the woman was unable to provide a boarding pass and prove she was legally allowed to be on the aircraft or on the secure side of the airport, the officer determined there was probable cause to arrest her and charge her with criminal trespass in the 1st degree.
KIRO 7 is not naming the woman at this time because she has not yet been formally charged.
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