Investigators are trying to determine how a woman bypassed multiple security checkpoints this week at JFK International Airport in New York and boarded a flight to Paris, apparently hiding in the plane’s bathroom during the flight.
The stowaway did not have a boarding pass but passed security checks and passed through two identification and boarding stations to board the Delta flight, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
Tuesday’s incident took place on one of the busiest travel days of the year. About 2.7 million people traveled by plane that day, before the Thanksgiving holiday, according to TSA data.
Here’s what we know:
An ‘exhaustive investigation’ is underway
The stowaway was not carrying any prohibited items, according to a TSA spokesperson.
It is not known how the person managed to get past the boarding gates before boarding the plane.
Delta is working with law enforcement and conducting its own investigation, the airline said.
“Nothing is more important than safety and security issues,” a Delta spokesperson said in a statement. “That’s why Delta is conducting a rigorous investigation into what may have happened and will work closely with other aviation stakeholders and law enforcement to do so.”
CNN has reached out to the FBI and Customs and Border Protection for more information.
Stowaway is a US green card holder
The stowaway is a woman aged between 55 and 60 and has a Russian passport, according to an airline official in Paris. He will soon be returned to the United States, the official said.
The woman was waiting at Charles de Gaulle airport – known as ZAPI – for people waiting to be deported, as she does not meet the requirements to enter Europe. The woman applied for asylum in France a few years ago, the official told CNN.
When asked, there was no mention of the woman’s thoughts.
When the woman is returned to the U.S., the TSA could issue a federal warrant and New York authorities could arrest her, though they are not currently involved, a government official familiar with the investigation told CNN. The TSA is conducting its own investigation into the incident, the official said.
Pilot made announcement about ‘serious safety issue’
New York City real estate agent Rob Jackson was on the Delta flight when the blockade was found and told CNN that passengers were told to remain seated after landing so police could board the plane.
“I did not see the person in question. Apparently he hid in the bathroom at the back of the plane when we left JFK,” Jackson said. “The first notice to the passengers that there was a problem when we parked at the gate and they told us to stay seated because the French police were going to enter the plane to deal with a ‘serious security issue.'”
Jackson recorded a video where the captain of the plane can be heard saying: “Guys, this is the captain, we’re just waiting for the police to come in.” They may be here now and they have instructed us to keep everyone on the plane until we can fix the other person on the plane.”
The plane was full and there were no extra seats for stowaway, Jackson said.
“I heard the flight attendants talk about it with the pilots – they said this person was in one bathroom and then he got out and walked to another bathroom and went in there for a long time,” he said.
CNN’s Lex Harvey and Saskya Vandoorne contributed this report.
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