With an audacious leap, he defied gravity—and airport security.
A former convict executed a daring breach at a Florida airport, scaling an eight-foot barbed-wire fence to access a JetBlue airplane, transforming it into his unorthodox sleeping quarters for the night.
Samuel Prescott Lackey, aged 32, now faces a barrage of felony charges following this unusual intrusion at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on August 1, according to CBS News.
Authorities from the Broward County Aviation Department reported that surveillance footage purportedly captured Lackey sauntering down a service road near the airport. The video allegedly shows him surmounting the fence and striding into a hangar.
Once there, Lackey is said to have utilized portable stairs, which maintenance workers had inadvertently left against a JetBlue aircraft, to sneak aboard and conceal himself inside the plane’s lavatory.
According to investigators, the plane’s door had been left open while it was parked at the JetScape hangar during overnight maintenance work.
During a routine interior inspection the following morning, JetBlue employees found Lackey asleep inside the plane.
The Broward County Aviation Department said the hangar where the plane was parked “was in a remote location away from FLL’s passenger terminal complex.”
Lackey, who state officials said was on parole out of Louisiana for burglary, later admitted to scaling the barbed wire fence, authorities said.
He was charged with criminal mischief, burglary of an occupied conveyance, and interrupting or impairing critical infrastructure
In a statement, JetBlue Corporate Communications said “The safety of our customers and crewmembers is JetBlue’s first priority. We will assist law enforcement with any relevant investigation,” according to the outlet.
The overnight snooze-fest resulted in a JetBlue flight delay that cost the airline approximately $2,400, court documents said.
The Post reached out to JetBlue, JetScape Services and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for comment.