TSA Investigators Review Video Surveillance Of Serial Stowaway Who Allegedly Snuck Onto San Jose-LAX Flight
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- Investigators with the Transportation Security Administration were looking at security camera footage from Mineta San Jose International Airport which purportedly shows a woman with no ticket or boarding pass sneaking through the security checkpoint and onto a plane headed for Los Angeles, according to a source.
62-year-old Marilyn Hartman was arrested Monday after the Southwest Airlines flight she was on arrived at LAX. She pleaded no contest in Los Angeles Wednesday to stowing away on the flight and was given three days in jail and two years probation. Hartman was also ordered to stay away from LAX unless she has a ticket.
She has also been banned from San Francisco International Airport for repeated attempts to sneak onto flights at SFO.
CBS News quoted a source close to the investigation as saying the surveillance footage shows Hartman sneaking by a TSA employee checking documents and ducking behind a family passing through the checkpoint.
The video footage was not made available to the press.
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Both the Transportation Security Administration and Mineta San Jose airport officials said Monday's incident should not be considered a security breach. "This was not a security breach," said Mineta San Jose Airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes. "TSA screened the passenger for prohibited items."
Mineta San Jose Airport Deputy Director of Business Development Cheryl Marcell blamed "a combination of factors" that lead to Monday's stowaway incident at the airport, but says airport officials are working with the TSA and Southwest in the investigation.
The TSA has only announced minor modifications in their security-screening process at the airport since this latest incident.
San Jose Airport Reviews Security Measures After Repeated Area Stowaway Sneaks On Flight
Tuesday, the TSA issued a statement on the incident. "The individual was screened along with all other passengers to ensure that she was not a security threat to the aircraft. Following an initial review by TSA at San Jose International Airport, the agency has initiated minor modifications to the layout of the document checking area to prevent another incident like this one," their statement read.
