Man With False Pilot's ID Arrested
By Dunstan Prial Associated Press Writer Friday, Sept. 14, 2001; 12:38 a.m. EDT
NEW YORK –– A man who tried to use a false pilot's identification to get past security was arrested Thursday at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and at least five more were detained, police said.
The arrested man had tried to fly to California on Tuesday morning and was carrying a certificate from a Florida flight training school, according to a source familiar with the workings of the airline industry.
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On Thursday, he tried to board American Airlines Flight 299 bound for San Jose.
Suspicious ticket counter staff alerted a supervisor who notified Port Authority police. Authorities tracked the man through security checks, including metal detectors, and stopped him at the gate.
A short time later, three more men arrived at Kennedy and boarded American Airlines Flight 133 to Los Angeles, according to the industry source.
Minutes later, law enforcement officers secretly boarded the plane using a catering cart, the source said. The officers, with weapons drawn, then removed the three from the plane.
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