The nine-year-old boy who stowed away on a Delta flight from Minneapolis to Las Vegas, passed through three security checkpoints at the airport without a boarding pass or identification, officials and an airline expert say.
"I've worked at the airport for 13 years, and we have more than 33 million people go through the terminal every year, and I've never heard of anything like this happening before," said Pat Hogan, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission.
The boy got through the Transportation Safety Administration checkpoint and past a Delta gate agent, and didn't get scrutinised by flight attendants before the plane took off from Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, said Terry Trippler, owner of ThePlaneRules.com.
The TSA, in a statement to news organisations, said it's reviewing whether checkpoint changes are needed. As for Thursday's incident, the TSA said: "The child was screened along with all other passengers to ensure that he was not a threat to the aircraft."
The boy actually went to the airport both Wednesday and Thursday via light-rail, Hogan said.
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On Thursday, the boy was seen on surveillance video talking to a Delta agent at the gate, Hogan said. While that agent was busy, the boy walked down the jetway and onto the plane.
The flight was not full and there were empty seats, Hogan said. The flight crew became suspicious midflight because the boy was not on their list of unattended minors and didn't appear to be travelling with an adult.
Las Vegas police were notified and took the boy into protective custody when the flight landed. Las Vegas police called Minneapolis police, who took a missing child report and went to the boy's home to inquire about the boy's whereabouts. The family said he hadn't been seen since Thursday morning.
