Nigerian man who flew from New York to LA with an old boarding pass and no passport walked straight through security, TSA admits



Security fears: Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi, pictured in a 2008 Chicago arrest report

A Nigerian man who boarded a flight from New York to LA with an expired boarding pass and no passport cleared airport security screening without any issues, the Transportation Security Administration has admitted.



Olajide Oluwaseum Noibi successfully passed through federal security checkpoints at JFK airport and was let off the plane in Los Angeles without arrest even after an air steward found he was using a stolen boarding card.

The foreign national was finally arrested yesterday, five days after his first flight, after he tried to board a flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta with another expired boarding pass.

In an embarrassing admission of failure, the TSA today admitted its officials had failed to stop the man when he was screened by security.



'Every passenger that passes through security checkpoints is subject to many layers of security including thorough physical screening at the checkpoint,' TSA spokesperson Greg Soule said.

'TSA's review of this matter indicates that the passenger went through screening.'

Secure? A Nigerian man boarded a flight from JFK airport in New York wit an expired boarding pass and no passport

Noibi last week got through security and Virgin America let him onto the plane even though his boarding pass was for a flight the day before, according to the FBI.



The identification check at airport security checkpoints was put in place as one of many new security measures after the 9/11 attacks.

These federal document checkers have basic fraudulent identification training.



Mid-flight from New York to Los Angeles, a flight attendant noticed Noibi was sitting in a seat that was supposed to be vacant.



Noibi showed the attendant the expired boarding pass that was in someone else's name, and then showed him a University of Michigan identification card with his picture on it.



Checkpoint: Olajide Noibi was let off the plane in LA without arrest even after he was found to have a stolen boarding pass

The boarding pass belonged to a man who said his boarding pass went missing from his pocket on his way to the airport June 23. Noibi boarded the plane with the expired pass the next day.



Noibi was arrested on Wednesday when law enforcement officials saw him trying to board a Delta flight and discovered he had more than 10 other expired boarding passes belonging to others in his bag.



According to police files, Noibi said, 'that he spent the night of June 28 2011 at LAX Gate 51B, which I know is in the secure portion of the airport.



'Noibi claimed he was able to go through passenger screening by obtaining a seat pass and displaying his University of Michigan identification and a police report that his passport had been stolen.'



He has been charged with being a stowaway.



Investigation: The FBI and TSA are looking into the security breach

Noibi told officers that the reason for his trip to Los Angeles was to recruit people to his software business, although he also said he did 'not know anybody in the Los Angeles area'.



'Every passenger that passes through security checkpoints is subject to many layers of security including thorough physical screening at the checkpoint,' Transportation Security Administration spokesman Greg Soule said.



'TSA's review of this matter indicates that the passenger went through screening.' TSA would not comment on what else happened, citing an ongoing FBI investigation.

