HOUSTON — Questions remain unanswered as the TSA and United Airlines stay silent about a recent security breach at Bush Intercontinental Airport, where a man managed to board a plane without proper authorization.
The criminal complaint reveals that Abdulrahman Oriyomi’s reservation had been canceled, and the boarding pass he presented was reportedly fake.
Surveillance footage captured Oriyomi interacting with a TSA officer on the morning of May 18. He was then guided to another TSA checkpoint where his photo was taken, allowing him to pass through security.
Michael Matranga, a former Secret Service agent now leading M6 Global Defense, criticized the TSA agents for letting Oriyomi clear security without a legitimate boarding pass.
“This incident represents a significant security lapse, not merely because he boarded the plane, but due to the multiple failures at various security checkpoints,” Matranga commented.
Police say Oriyomi then approached a gate and tried twice to scan the fake boarding pass, but to no avail.
More than an hour later, they say he showed up at another gate where United gate agents were scanning boarding passes.
Police say Oriyomi walked right past the agents while they were busy with other passengers.
“They’re not paying attention to his diversionary tactics. They’re distracted, they’re not situationally aware,” said Matranga.
Police say Oriyomi hid in the plane’s restroom as it taxied to the runway, and that a passenger alerted flight attendants to his presence.
Once the flight crew realized he wasn’t supposed to be on the plane, it returned to the gate where it was met by police, an explosive device unit and the FBI.
Matranga said all of that could have been avoided had Oriyomi been stopped from the beginning at the TSA screening checkpoint.
“At a very minimum, those agents that were directly involved and probably that whole cadre of agents at the airport need to be retrained on policy and consistency in policy,” he said.
Oriyomi was questioned the same day and given a trespass warning, but charges were not filed until June 1, and he wasn’t arrested until Friday morning.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said HPD didn’t approach it about filing charges until June.
HPD told ABC affiliate KTRK that officers didn’t have enough to charge Oriyomi initially. However, after an investigation, he was charged with impairing or interrupting the operation of a critical infrastructure facility.
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