Houston Police Charge Abdulrahman Oriyomi After He Boarded United Flight With Forged Pass on May 18
Updated
Updated · KTRK-TV · Jun 7
Houston Police Charge Abdulrahman Oriyomi After He Boarded United Flight With Forged Pass on May 18
3 articles · Updated · KTRK-TV · Jun 7
Summary
Friday's arrest came nearly three weeks after investigators say Abdulrahman Oriyomi slipped onto a United flight at Houston's Bush Intercontinental and was later charged with impairing a critical infrastructure facility.
A criminal complaint says his reservation had been canceled, yet TSA let him through security after photographing him, even though the boarding pass he carried appeared to be forged.
Surveillance and police accounts say Oriyomi failed twice to scan the pass at one gate, then walked past distracted United gate agents at another and hid in a restroom as the plane taxied.
A passenger alerted crew members, sending the flight back to the gate, where police, the FBI and an explosive device unit met the aircraft.
The case has raised questions about layered screening failures at both TSA and United; police said they lacked enough evidence initially and filed charges only after a deeper investigation.