Man arrested after allegedly sneaking onto United Airlines flight with fake boarding pass

A man was arrested after allegedly sneaking onto a United Airlines flight with a fake boarding pass at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport last month, according to court documents filed earlier this week.

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Abdulrahman Oriyomi, 25 of Houston, was arrested Friday in connection with the May 18 incident and charged with felony impairment or interruption of a critical infrastructure facility, court records filed in Harris County Texas show.

Court documents say surveillance cameras captured Oriyomi on the morning of May 18 in Terminal C appearing to have issues with his boarding pass before speaking with Transportation Security Officers, who ultimately allowed him to have his photo taken and pass through security.

Once through, he was seen speaking with United Airlines employees multiple times and attempting to board at least one flight — each time being turned away when his boarding pass failed to scan, court documents say.

At around 9 a.m., Oriyomi joined the boarding line for United Airlines Flight 469, bound for Los Angeles.

“As Defendant Oriyomi approaches he intentionally waits for the United employees to be preoccupied with other passengers,” a Houston Police Department officer says in the court document. “He then pretends he is going to show his boarding pass, walks past the United employees, then proceeds down the jetway while the two United employees are still distracted.”

Once aboard, Oriyomi allegedly sat down in an aisle seat before slipping into restroom and coming back to find that the seat had been taken by the rightful passenger, according to a witness. With the flight full, he allegedly attempted to conceal himself by repeatedly retreating to the bathroom. A concerned passenger alerted a flight attendant that someone remained in the restroom while the plane was taxiing.

Despite being instructed multiple times to take a seat, Oriyomi continued returning to the bathroom, according to court documents. When a flight attendant asked for his name, he falsely identified himself as “Mr. Lopez.” Staff checked the flight manifest, found no one by that name authorized to be on board, and the aircraft was taxied back to the gate.

Passengers and crew deplaned and the aircraft was checked for explosives by the Houston Police Department Explosive Detection K-9 Unit, court documents state. Officers spoke with Oriyomi, who provided his real name. A United customer service manager told police she had located a reservation under his name, but that it had been canceled due to nonpayment.

Oriyomi was issued a trespass warning and allegedly caused a disturbance by recording officers with his phone before leaving the airport, per court documents.

Flight 469 was ultimately delayed three hours as a result of the incident, court documents state. United Airlines would not provide comment when NBC News reached out, deferring instead to law enforcement.

In the days that followed, Houston Police Department investigators with the Houston Police Department determined the boarding pass was fraudulent by comparing it with authentic ones and consulting United Airlines employees. Oriyomi was subsequently arrested Friday on charges of intentionally impairing or interrupting the operation of a critical infrastructure facility.

He is being held at the Harris County Joint Processing Center and is scheduled to appear in Harris County Court Monday morning for a bail review. It is not yet known whether Oriyomi has retained legal counsel.