TSORon

The story CNN is quoting is inaccurate.

He jumped the fence and attempted to board the aircraft from the tarmac. Airport police or private security companies are in control of these areas, and you never know what you get with them. Several things failed on that incident, but the fact is that he never got on board the aircraft. He was challenged by airline personnel the moment he opened the jetway door.

TheRoadie

There's no jetway at the commuter terminal. I thought he got on board, and was only noticed by the passenger count being off by one. The last line of defense against stowaways, not supposed to be a line of defense against the bad guys.

MaximumSisu

So the airport police chief, the flight attendant, several passengers and Marc Duncan, all of whom have given print and TV interviews, are all lying since they all say he boarded?

I suppose you could prove your contention, but can't show us because it is SSI.

Wally Bird

No, it happened that way in Ron's parallel universe.

Or, it's a big conspiracy to mislead all the media:
http://www.10news.com/news/31132960/detail.html
http://www.10news.com/news/31132960/detail.html
http://www.10news.com/newsarchive/31137222/detail.html

MaximumSisu

Parallel universe or delirium?

MR_MAMA

Is that the company line? So many people have been itnerviewed that were there, maybe you were on a break and missed it. Here is an interview with the con himself. I suppose he was charged with crimes he did not commit? Right!!!

http://www.10news.com/news/31138629/detail.html

cordelli

Jetway to a commuter flight? Whoever is feeding your official lines should at least try to get part of the story right.

Sorry not buying it.

LA Times
found in the plane's bathroom, was arrested without incident before takeoff

The San Diego Police Lieutenant
The pilot was doing his safety walk and checked with the flight attendant. He was supposed to have 27 passengers, and the flight attendant count was 28," Jordan said. "Mr. ..... got up on his own and gave up; he walked himself off the plane."

Airline Spokesperson
He allegedly boarded a 30-seat United Express aircraft operated by SkyWest, which was heading to Los Angeles, according to airline spokesman Wes ......

Fellow prospective Passenger
The flight attendant realized she had too many passengers, Nicholas ...., a passenger on the plane told CNN affiliate KGTV. "They said, 'What is your count?' She said this is my count, and they said that is wrong."

Or in his own words in the interview after his arraignment
"Yeah, I just jumped on a plane. I'm sick and tired of the security issues at airports."

reamworks

From his account, UA treated Duncan better than they treat ticketed passengers!

See this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18697623-post37.html

CDKing

Typical TSA blame game and/or cover-up. Get a real job

chollie

Just another incident of mass hysteria, obviously. Fortunately TSA was not there and not involved, so we can assume they are the authorities on the matter.

Upgraded!

Who gives a sh!t? As long as there has been air travel there have been stowaways. It doesn't matter that terrorists exist, it doesn't matter that this guy had a criminal record (unless it had something to do with terrorism) and it doesn't mean anything to anyone other than someone tried to steal a seat on UA, a fairly petty crime in and of itself.

TheRoadie

It's a demonstration of the leakiness of the vaunted multiple levels of security that ANY bad guy is able to sit down on an aircraft in an unscreened state. That he was ultimately caught only by an airline revenue-protection process (also justifiable for technical weight & balance reasons), doesn't invalidate the observation that he got right by airport security physical barriers and staff.

Got right by them, without any effort at stealth or cleverness.

If this goofball could do it, a trained and prepared bad guy could more easily do it, so it begs the question - why isn't the TSA attempting to secure these paths instead of groping grannies and 7 year olds?

damieniz1

I fly out of the SAN commuter terminal frequently. The actual terminal is tiny, baggage claim and check-in area are only a feet apart and next to the baggage terminal is a door to the tarmac. There is a TSA agent there to monitor said door however when passengers are getting off the plane i could conceivably see how one could slip through, granted any half asleep person could stop this, but given the proximity of baggage claim, gates, security, tarmac, it wouldn't be that hard to slip past.

I talked to a skywest FA and that person confirmed the person was on the plane. The turbo props are usually weight restricted to 27 people (3 open seats), so this was an easy catch, having an extra on board.

A well trained monkey should be able to secure the door and keep a watchful eye of the ONLY door between baggage claim and the tarmac.

eastport

I don't see how this wasn't a security failure.

Entire large terminals have been dumped because a passenger picked up their bag from the belt and walked away before TSA screeners realized they needed to do a hand check.

People going through the screening process are almost certainly not knowingly carrying weapons. Those that are carrying prohibited items are doing so by mistake, and aren't a security risk.

Here was someone that intentionally bypassed security. Chances are high that he is just a crackpot, thief or TSA personnel but it's still vastly more of a risk than someone with an accidentally un-screened bag. They could easily have carried guns, ammo or explosives into the secure area, stashed them somewhere and only after been caught. Who would notice an extra wheel chock?

Caradoc

That explains why the TSA wasn't able to do so.