Wicliff Yves Fleurizard, 26, was charged with stowing away after boarding a flight at the Salt Lake City airport by taking a cellphone photo of another passenger's ticket and displaying the photo to the boarding scanner. He was caught only because the flight was full and he had no-where to sit.
When he exited the bathroom, a flight attendant noticed there were no available seats and approached Fleurizard to assist him, according to the complaint, which noted the plane had already pushed back from the gate and begun taxiing down the runway. Fleurizard told the flight attendant that his seat was 21F, but the crew member verified that the person who purchased the ticket for that seat was already sitting in it, the complaint said. Once flight attendants obtained Fleurizard's actual name and determined he didn't have a ticket or booking reservation, the plane returned to the gate and he was met by law enforcement, the complaint said.
He had a ticket for a later flight but wanted to get home early, according to CNN.
Previously: "Stowaway" flies from Denmark to LAX in plain sight (but no ticket)