Police: Md. Man Got On Plane In NYC Without Ticket
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday it is trying to determine how a man slipped past authorities and boarded a flight with a stolen boarding pass at New York's Kennedy airport.
Ronald Wong, 30, of Chevy Chase, Md., was charged with trespassing after a flight attendant noticed him standing at the rear of a Delta airliner preparing to leave for San Francisco on Feb. 24.
Wong told police he took another passenger's boarding pass at the JFK ticket counter, according to a police report filed in a New York City court.
TSA agents are supposed to check boarding passes against passengers' IDs. Airline gate agents then double-check the passes as passengers board.
TSA said its agents screened Wong's baggage at the security checkpoint, but he somehow slipped past the ID-checking station.
"TSA is aware of the incident and fully cooperating with the ongoing law enforcement investigation," the agency said in a statement.
A seat on the New York-San Francisco flight, Delta 127, normally costs $541, according to court documents. It was unclear if the stolen boarding pass was for that flight or another one.
New York City prosecutors have charged Wong with theft of services, criminal trespassing and petit larceny. He was released on bail Saturday.
The arrest was first reported Wednesday by The New York Post.
A man who answered Wong's telephone number in Chevy Chase declined to comment. Delta Air Lines did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
