Man Gets 6 Months After Boarding AA Flight Unnoticed

By Claudia Liburd
Trinidad Reporter- SKNVibes.com

(Port-of-Spain, Trinidad) --- A 51-year old San Juan native is now facing six months hard labor after he evaded airport security and boarding an American Airlines flight bound for Miami.

Reportedly, at around 6 a.m. on Sunday an out-patient of the St. Ann’s Hospital skipped the fence adjacent to the Tobago Express gate at the Piarco International Airport and then ambled down the flight ramp to the grounded aircraft at Gate 11.

A statement released from the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (AATT) on Tuesday detailed the circumstances surrounding the breach of security.

“On Sunday July 27 at around 5:55 a.m., an unauthorized male person was detected boarding a parked aircraft. He was detained by security personnel and charged under the AATT Act.

“The Authority is presently conducting a full investigation into the matter, even as it has implemented certain additional security measures to strengthen its system,” said the AATT.

The man was found barefooted, drenched from rain and clad in a jacket and pair of jeans. When questioned by a ramp attendant about his presence on the plane he simply replied that he wished to see his father.

Police sources indicated that it was not the first time that the 51-year-old man had scaled the fence but said he had not gained access to any planes in that instance. Yesterday the plane hopper pleaded guilty before Arima Third Court Magistrate Alexander Prince and was sentenced to six months in jail with hard labor.