Bogus boarding pass arrest latest security gaffe

LOS ANGELES - A Nigerian-American U.S. citizen without a passport and clutching another traveler's expired boarding pass made it through a New York airport federal security checkpoint and boarded a Virgin America jetliner to Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said Thursday.

The incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of airport and airline screening procedures in place since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Days later, Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi tried to board a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta with another expired pass and was arrested and charged with being a stowaway aboard an aircraft, the FBI said.

He could face up to five years in prison if convicted, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

He's expected to appear in a Los Angeles federal courtroom on Friday.

Though Noibi is of Nigerian heritage, his citizenship had initially been unclear. But an FBI official confirms to CBS News correspondent Bob Orr that Noibi is a U.S., born in Iowa. He spent much of his life in Nigeria and claims he is a Nigerian citizen as well, although that could not immediately be confirmed, in part because he claims to have lost his Nigerian passport.

So going forward we should probably identify him as a US citizen of Nigerian heritage.

Investigators say Noibi, whose age hasn't been released, boarded Virgin America Flight 415 at John F. Kennedy International Airport last Friday night. The flight crew didn't realize an extra passenger was onboard until mid-flight. Noibi's name wasn't on the flight manifest.

In an affidavit, FBI Agent Kevin Hogg said Noibi sat in a seat that was supposed to be empty. Flight attendants asked him for a boarding pass and he presented one that was a day old and had someone else's name on it.

"Every passenger that passes through security checkpoints is subject to many layers of security including thorough physical screening at the checkpoint," Transportation Security Administration spokesman Greg Soule said. "TSA's review of this matter indicates that the passenger went through screening."

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Eimiller said the Virgin America flight crew asked law enforcement to meet the plane on arrival early Saturday at Los Angeles International Airport.

CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that Noibi made no threats and was carrying no weapons so the flight crew determined it was safe to fly on to L.A.

Hogg met the flight and detained and questioned Noibi.

"He wasn't arrested at that time. Beyond traveling without a ticket there was no immediate threat," Eimiller said.

Noibi told the FBI he was in L.A. to recruit people for his software business, Orr reports. He claimed he'd simply found the unused boarding pass and admitted not buying a ticket.

Agents then traced the boarding pass to its rightful owner who confirmed that he'd lost the boarding pass on a New York subway and simply had printed another one at an airport kiosk.

When the FBI found no apparent connections to terror, Noibi was turned loose. He spent several days in Southern California before returning to the Los Angeles airport on Wednesday, when he tried to board a Delta flight bound for Atlanta. The FBI said he again presented an expired boarding pass and had no valid identification.

A search of his bag found 10 expired boarding passes, none of them with his name.

Noibi was then arrested.

[yorkcd]

Security of flights isn't just the sole responsibility of the TSA. This was a complete failure by Virgin America too! The gate agent committed a huge error by not properly reading the fake/expired boarding pass, or by not scanning it correctly. Airline gate readers serve more than just the purpose of counting the number of people who have boarded. The flight attendants also failed because their passenger count would have been off which automatically suggests that they have an inaccurate passenger manifest prior to departure. Law enforcement in Los Angeles failed by letting this guy go after his original detainment. Any police officer with an ounce of integrity would have at least investigated to the point where there would have been facts to support this man fraudulently gained access to an aircraft and flew without paying.

I know the TSA are the current whipping horse over airline security and they shouldn't be. They utilize the best equipment and training available and I personally wouldn't fly if the TSA never existed. Having said that, anytime humans are involved in a process there is the risk of human error. In this case there are multiple instances of human error beginning with the TSA, including the airline involved and ending with local law enforcement.

This is a classic example of a terrorist dry-run. Just because the guy had a good story doesn't make him any less of a threat...it just makes him a bad guy with a good story! You don't have to think too far back to remember what happened when a group of guys with good stories got on to a few select airplanes...9/11.

[Fansince1976]

A friend of mine (no, it wasn't me-honest) was cheated by a Nigerian and I have nothing good to say about those people and their country. I wouldn't trust a Nigerian any farther than I could throw one. The country is afflicted with people who rather con someone out of their own money rather than work for it. There are people in their government and banks that are conspirators colluding with the "scammers" to fleece people.
Just like Somalia where many government officials collaborate with the pirates off the Horn of Africa.

[RedDeath50]

by retiredgustav June 30, 2011 1:38 PM EDT
Other than this guy getting a free ride I don't see the security threat.

=====================================

WRONG!

If this had been a one time thing where he found a lost boarding pass and tried to capitalize on it by getting a free cross country trip, you might have a point. But this was no isolated incident! This jerk had a whole bag full of boarding passes!

There are two issues here:
1) The total and epic failure of the airport gestapo (AKA: TSA)
2) What were this guys real reasons.

[kbbpll]

He was probably just passed out those millions in Nigerian bank money to the people who selflessly offered to help.

[alex_glaz]

Nigerians have for years been duping gullible Americans out of their life-time savings by offering bogus promises of gold or diamond mines in return for tens of thousands of dollars. These Africans are particularly smart in the game of deception. I wonder what sort of software this man was trying to market.

[retiredgustav]

Other than this guy getting a free ride I don't see the security threat.

[earltelco]

The problem with our TSA screening is that they are not allowed to do profiling so under all conditions nobody is exempt from the process . I travel a lot internationally and with out exception in our country we are not allowed to do profiling which is the most effective means to protect the public. The ACLU gets all up set when we do. For example if a[ white man with red ears was a terrorist ]. Why do we have to search every one to find him and not people fitting his description or his demeanor . All other countries do this to some extent we are crazy we we don't and then look foolish to the world , because of incidents like this one, we will always have people that feel they were selected for search because of a personal attribute, but that is life and it is not always fair, as all know, but the greater good would be accomplished and most people understand this. Those that don't are wanting a dream world that does not exist except in their imaginations.

[retiredgustav]

The problem with profiling is cost. There is apx. 45 minutes spent on each passenger in Israel. Multiply that by the number of people that fly in the us and you are looking at making flying unafordable. Remember Israel only fly 17 million passengers a year. We have individual airports that fly that many.

[houstontx006]

This guy 'got through' while the TSA was feeling up 6 year olds and making Granny take her diaper off...

[credibility2]

...exactly...and notice how there isn't the outrage about this...maybe it's because of this guy's ethnicity...how unacceptably PC that would be...we'd be offending an African who is probably a Muslim as well...

[braniff77]

But I'll bet he didn't have more than 3 ounces of shampoo in his bag.

[betterusa]

PROFILE! The TSA can pat down children and 95 year-old ladies in wheelchairs wearing adult diapers but they cannot closely check foreigners with fake boarding passes. I know all the liberals will call this racist but isn't it amazing how many incidents of terrorism are from foreigners with fake IDs. I agree with checking all passengers but more time should be taken on certain individuals.