Man who flew from New York to Texas in crate wanted free ride
DALLAS, Sep 09, 2003 (The Dallas Morning News - Knight Ridder/Tribune News
Service via COMTEX) -- Believe it or not, Charles D. McKinley said he never
intended to fly from New York City to Dallas locked in a shipping crate just
large enough to fit his 5-foot-8-inch frame. He only wanted a free ride.
"I would never, never do it over again," he said Tuesday from a Dallas prisoner
holding facility, where he was being held on unrelated charges. Dressed in a
white prison jumpsuit, McKinley spoke modestly about his experience.
"I would advise no one to ever do this," he said.
Law enforcement officials questioning him Monday and Tuesday labeled him a
potential terrorist, he said.
"I never thought that I'd have a terrorist label on me," he said, adding that he
couldn't help but "break down and cry when they did."
His version of the journey over two days and more than 1,500 miles, given during
a 20-minute interview Tuesday, is as follows:
A friend of a friend, who claimed to be a United Parcel Service employee,
arranged for him to travel for free aboard a cargo plane so he could visit his
family in DeSoto, Texas. He figured he'd sit in a jump seat.
Of course he would, the supposed UPS employee told McKinley, who added that he'd
just have to hide in a 42-by-36-by-15-inch wooden crate at the end so he
wouldn't be detected by authorities.
"Get in and see if you'll fit," the man told him. McKinley obliged, clutching
his laptop computer, a cell phone and some clothes.
A moment later, he said, the man, whom McKinley would not identify, closed and
sealed the crate. McKinley said he couldn't get out. A shipping truck, operated
by Pilot Air Freight, delivered him to a cargo warehouse at John F. Kennedy
International Airport.
"I remember sitting on rollers, feeling other crates slam against me," McKinley
said. "I was scared."
Workers loaded him on a Boeing 727 cargo plane operated by Kitty Hawk Cargo,
which took off about 9:30 p.m. Friday. McKinley had no food, no water and little
space to move. He hadn't eaten since early afternoon. Adjacent crates blocked
him from breaking out of his enclosure, he said.
McKinley dozed during much of the flight to Dallas.
"It was so cold. It felt like winter in New York again," McKinley said. "At this
point, I was so scared and tired. I wanted someone to find me."
So desperate to get out, McKinley began turning his cellular phone on and off,
hoping it would interfere with the pilots' controls and prompt them to
investigate the plane's cargo hold. Nothing happened. He dozed again. Then,
McKinley found himself "somewhere in the South at about 3:30 a.m. or 4 a.m. on
Saturday. I could tell by their accents and the style of their clothing."
A few hours later, a shipping truck picked him up, made three stops, then
delivered him to his parents' home in DeSoto.
There, McKinley kicked his way out of the crate. The deliveryman called police,
and McKinley was arrested on warrants.
Asked whether his experience might inspire terrorists, McKinley looked at the
floor and put his hands on his head.
"My goal was just to come home. You know how you want to come home sometimes, it
hurts?" he asked, pausing.
"I'm sure the president ... he's already stepped up and made sure everything on
an airplane gets checked, cargo and everything, because of this," he said.
McKinley appeared in court Tuesday and pleaded guilty to violating probation for
a June 1999 conviction for theft by check. McKinley failed to report to
probation officers for several months and did not pay restitution and other
court-imposed fees, records indicate.
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Officials with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and the U.S.
attorney's office say they have not charged McKinley with any federal crimes,
but they're continuing to investigate.
The shipping contract was originally placed with United Postal Service, which
then contracted with Pilot Air Freight to deliver the crate, said Pilot Air
Freight president and CEO Richard G. Phillips. The shipping company charged UPS
between $550 and $650 to transport the crate.
McKinley's box was registered to Metro Tech, a computer company in the Bronx.
Since the company did not have "known shipper" status, the box was placed on a
cargo plane rather than a passenger plane.
McKinley declined to discuss his personal background.
Visits to his parents' home yielded no further explanation. A sign hung on the
front door: "There will be no interviews or comments made at all so please do
not disturb us. Do not knock or ring our doorbell anymore."
McKinley said he never imagined he'd ever be the focus of international
scrutiny.
"This is not how I wanted my face on the news," he said.
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(Dallas Morning News correspondent Robert Tharp contributed to this report.)
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By Dave Levinthal
The Dallas Morning News
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Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
(C) 2003 The Dallas Morning News
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KEYWORD: DALLAS
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