A Nigerian man is in FBI custody in Los Angeles after flying from New York's JFK Airport to Los Angeles International Airport without a valid boarding pass and matching identification - the latest episode that highlights holes in U.S. airport security.
The incident happened last Friday but the man, identified as Olajide Noibi, was initially released after being questioned by authorities. He was arrested Wednesday when FBI agents found Noibi trying to board another flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta - again with an invalid boarding pass.
FBI officials said a search of his bag uncovered more than 10 other boarding passes in various names that were not his. He had two additional bogus passes in his pocket, sources said.
Noibi has been charged with being a stowaway on Virgin America flight 415 but he is not being charged under any terrorism or homeland security laws, sources told CBS News.
Noibi told authorities he found an unused pre-printed boarding pass on a New York City subway the day before the flight, according to a law enforcement source. FBI officials said the boarding pass, carrying a different name, had been issued for a Virgin flight that flew Thursday from New York to Los Angeles.
Authorities contacted the man whose name was on the pass and he said he had the document in his back pocket on the subway but found it missing when he got to the airport.
TSA agents at airport checkpoints are required to match boarding passes with passenger IDs, like driver's licenses. That apparently didn't happen in this case and TSA officials are investigating to find out how the lapse occurred.
Aboard the L.A.-bound plane, a flight attendant questioned Noibi after seeing him sit in preferred seating that should have been unoccupied, sources said. After asking for his identification, Noibi produced a University of Michigan photo ID with his name on it. The flight attendant notified the captain who called ahead to authorities in Los Angeles who were waiting for Noibi when the flight arrived.
His arrest four days later came after he attempted to board a Delta flight to Atlanta with an outdated boarding pass. The airline gate agent turned him away telling him that his boarding pass was invalid and he would have to straighten out the situation at the ticket counter. A Border and Customs Protection agent heard him insisting on getting on the flight and pulled him aside for questioning. He was then taken into custody and charged for the previous incident on Virgin America.
TSA officials said Noibi never presented a threat to Virgin America 415. While he boarded the flight with an invalid pass, he still went through passenger screening designed to find weapons and explosives.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News there is no indication Noibi is connected to any terror group or plot. But the investigation is in its early stages and officials concede the security breach is the latest proof that the screening system still has holes.
FBI officials said a search of his bag uncovered more than 10 other boarding passes in various names that were not his. He had two additional bogus passes in his pocket, sources said.
Noibi has been charged with being a stowaway on Virgin America flight 415 but he is not being charged under any terrorism or homeland security laws, sources told CBS News.
Noibi told authorities he found an unused pre-printed boarding pass on a New York City subway the day before the flight, according to a law enforcement source. FBI officials said the boarding pass, carrying a different name, had been issued for a Virgin flight that flew Thursday from New York to Los Angeles.
Authorities contacted the man whose name was on the pass and he said he had the document in his back pocket on the subway but found it missing when he got to the airport.
TSA agents at airport checkpoints are required to match boarding passes with passenger IDs, like driver's licenses. That apparently didn't happen in this case and TSA officials are investigating to find out how the lapse occurred.
Aboard the L.A.-bound plane, a flight attendant questioned Noibi after seeing him sit in preferred seating that should have been unoccupied, sources said. After asking for his identification, Noibi produced a University of Michigan photo ID with his name on it. The flight attendant notified the captain who called ahead to authorities in Los Angeles who were waiting for Noibi when the flight arrived.
His arrest four days later came after he attempted to board a Delta flight to Atlanta with an outdated boarding pass. The airline gate agent turned him away telling him that his boarding pass was invalid and he would have to straighten out the situation at the ticket counter. A Border and Customs Protection agent heard him insisting on getting on the flight and pulled him aside for questioning. He was then taken into custody and charged for the previous incident on Virgin America.
TSA officials said Noibi never presented a threat to Virgin America 415. While he boarded the flight with an invalid pass, he still went through passenger screening designed to find weapons and explosives.
Law enforcement sources told CBS News there is no indication Noibi is connected to any terror group or plot. But the investigation is in its early stages and officials concede the security breach is the latest proof that the screening system still has holes.
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