Alleged Stowaway Arrested for Impairing Critical Infrastructure on United Flight
A 25-year-old man from Houston, Abdulrahman Oriyomi, was arrested on Friday for allegedly sneaking onto a United flight and attempting to hide from the crew in an airplane bathroom. He has been charged with intentionally impairing or disrupting a critical infrastructure facility in connection with the incident that occurred on May 18. The charges were filed in Harris County and Oriyomi is currently detained at the county processing center pending a bail review.
According to court records obtained by NBC News, surveillance footage showed that Oriyomi had trouble with his boarding pass while going through security at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. However, he was allowed to proceed after speaking with officers and having his picture taken. He then spoke with multiple United employees in Terminal C and attempted to board a flight, but was unable to do so when his boarding pass failed to scan.
Despite this, Oriyomi managed to slip past gate agents and join the line for a United flight to Los Angeles. He is believed to have hidden in the airplane’s bathroom in an attempt to conceal the fact that he did not have a valid ticket for a seat. A passenger on the flight noticed someone in the bathroom while the aircraft was taxiing and notified a flight attendant. The man was instructed to take a seat, but he continued to return to the bathroom. When asked for his name, he allegedly provided a false name, “Mr.Lopez,” which did not match any names on the flight’s manifest.
As a result, the airplane was forced to return to the gate, all passengers and crew were deplaned, and the aircraft was checked for explosives by Houston police. It was later discovered that there was a reservation under Oriyomi’s name, but it had been canceled due to non-payment. At the time, he was only issued a warning for trespassing and was not detained.
However, further investigation revealed that Oriyomi’s boarding pass was fraudulent, leading to the upgraded charges. United has not made any public comments on the incident.