Stowaway who boarded Paris flight bypassed checkpoints by jumping into different security lines, TSA says

Passengers video taken after landing in Paris this morning. The pilot for Delta flight 254 can be heard announcing that police have arrived and for everyone to stay seated, the extra passenger that's on the plane. The T tonight confirms that someone without *** boarding pass was screened at Kennedy airport last night. The woman had no prohibited items but bypassed two identity verification and boarding status stations and was able to board the aircraft. The passenger who took the video said flight attendants became suspicious when the passenger was going from one bathroom to another, but that didn't happen until they were practically in Paris and just before landing, what is it with this woman going between toilets? Why didn't she ever go to her seat? There's *** failure here that frankly 33 years flying Worldwide Airlines that it's inconceivable to me. We asked former commercial pilot JP Tristani, how this could happen *** stowaway without *** boarding pass getting through at least three checkpoints and onto *** full transatlantic flight on one of the two busiest air travel days of the year. Even standby passengers just don't get on board. You have to go through the gate. *** statement from Delta says nothing is of greater importance than matters of safety and 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 on *** day. Like Thanksgiving, Christmas, he's highly traveled. You also have generally speaking, packed flights, no seats available, all the aircraft are going out. We have *** gross failure here of security. Right on down the line. There's been at least one Stowaway case in which someone used *** picture or screenshot of someone else's boarding pass to get on *** flight. It's not clear if this passenger used something like that because she went through TS *** screening. She did have *** valid ID. The FBI has joined the investigation tonight. Sonia Ring on channel seven. Eyewitness News.

A Russian woman who stowed away on a flight from New York to Paris last week was able to sneak through the security checkpoint by starting off in a lane reserved for airline flight crews, according to the Transportation Security Administration.A TSA spokesperson tells CNN the 57-year-old woman first bypassed an airport terminal employee in charge of the line for the Known Crewmember checkpoint at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s terminal 4 main checkpoint. She then joined the line for standard TSA screening. It was at that point that the woman bypassed stations where her ID and boarding pass would have been checked, the spokesperson said.This is the most detailed account yet of how she was able to elude security checks and make her way onto the flight.Once the woman proceeded to the gate, she placed herself in the middle of what appeared to be a family traveling together, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.Investigators believe a contributing factor may have been the massive holiday weekend crowds at the airport. The TSA said it screened nearly 2.7 million passengers at U.S. airports on that Tuesday before Thanksgiving.The new information on how the woman got past security comes after Delta Air Lines refused to allow her to fly back to New York Tuesday, delaying her return flight until Wednesday, a Paris airport official told CNN.The woman was due to leave France on a flight at 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET) Tuesday. She was on board the plane when Delta refused to fly her, according to the official.When contacted by CNN for details, Delta declined to comment or say why the woman was not allowed to fly. “We are going to try to send her back again with a French escort,” the French official said.She is now scheduled to fly back to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport escorted by two French security officials on a Delta flight Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. local time, according to the official.The woman was originally scheduled to be returned to the United States on a Delta flight Saturday afternoon. But after she boarded the plane she started screaming, and French authorities removed her, according to an official. She was then rebooked on Tuesday’s flight.A man who was on the plane Saturday told CNN the woman was sitting across the aisle from him and his family.“She kept on saying ‘I do not want to go back to the USA. Only a judge can make me go back to the USA,’” Gary Treichler said.The woman was expected to be accompanied by six U.S. marshals on Tuesday’s flight back to New York, authorities said.Inspectors from the TSA are preparing a civil case against the stowaway after reviewing airport security video from inside John F. Kennedy International Airport, agency spokesperson Alexa Lopez told CNN.“The TSA will open civil cases against passengers when there’s evidence that procedures may have been violated,” Lopez said. The TSA cannot bring criminal charges, though it can refer them to the Justice Department. It’s unclear whether any criminal charges will be filed.Delta has not said how the woman was able to board the plane once she made it past the TSA checkpoint.The airline said it “is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred,” but declined further comment.TSA Administrator David Pekoske said Tuesday the agency occasionally has “a very, very small number” of people who skip the identity verification stage. Speaking at the Aviation Security Summit of the American Association of Airport Executives, Pekoske suggested electronic gates might be a solution to making sure everyone gets screened.Correction: An earlier version of this story identified the wrong law enforcement agency whose officers accompanied the stowaway. The US Marshals denied any involvement, but it wasn’t immediately clear which agency a Paris official was referencing.

PARIS —

A Russian woman who on a flight from New York to Paris last week was able to sneak through the security checkpoint by starting off in a lane reserved for airline flight crews, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

A TSA spokesperson tells CNN the 57-year-old woman first bypassed an airport terminal employee in charge of the line for the Known Crewmember checkpoint at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s terminal 4 main checkpoint. She then joined the line for standard TSA screening. It was at that point that the woman bypassed stations where her ID and boarding pass would have been checked, the spokesperson said.

This is the most detailed account yet of how she was able to elude security checks and make her way onto the flight.

Once the woman proceeded to the gate, she placed herself in the middle of what appeared to be a family traveling together, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

Investigators believe a contributing factor may have been the massive holiday weekend crowds at the airport. The TSA said it screened on that Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

The new information on how the woman got past security comes after Delta Air Lines refused to allow her to fly back to New York Tuesday, delaying her return flight until Wednesday, a Paris airport official told CNN.

The woman was due to leave France on a flight at 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET) Tuesday. She was on board the plane when Delta refused to fly her, according to the official.

When contacted by CNN for details, Delta declined to comment or say why the woman was not allowed to fly. “We are going to try to send her back again with a French escort,” the French official said.

She is now scheduled to fly back to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport escorted by two French security officials on a Delta flight Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. local time, according to the official.

The woman was originally scheduled to be returned to the United States on a Delta flight Saturday afternoon. But after she boarded the plane she started screaming, and French authorities , according to an official. She was then rebooked on Tuesday’s flight.

A man who was on the plane Saturday told CNN the woman was sitting across the aisle from him and his family.

“She kept on saying ‘I do not want to go back to the USA. Only a judge can make me go back to the USA,’” Gary Treichler said.

The woman was expected to be accompanied by six U.S. marshals on Tuesday’s flight back to New York, authorities said.

Inspectors from the TSA are preparing a civil case against the stowaway after reviewing airport security video from inside John F. Kennedy International Airport, agency spokesperson Alexa Lopez told CNN.

“The TSA will open civil cases against passengers when there’s evidence that procedures may have been violated,” Lopez said. The TSA cannot bring criminal charges, though it can refer them to the Justice Department. It’s unclear whether any criminal charges will be filed.

Delta has not said how the woman was able to board the plane once she made it past the TSA checkpoint.

The airline said it “is conducting an exhaustive investigation of what may have occurred,” but declined further comment.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske said Tuesday the agency occasionally has “a very, very small number” of people who skip the identity verification stage. Speaking at the Aviation Security Summit of the American Association of Airport Executives, Pekoske suggested electronic gates might be a solution to making sure everyone gets screened.

Correction: An earlier version of this story identified the wrong law enforcement agency whose officers accompanied the stowaway. The US Marshals denied any involvement, but it wasn’t immediately clear which agency a Paris official was referencing.

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