Marilyn Hartman is a 66-year-old "serial stowaway" who has made a habit out of sneaking through airport security 
onto airplanes. She was arrested last Thursday on January 18th at Heathrow Airport in England after stowing away on an airplane and flying all the way from O'Hare Airport in Chicago. Hartman has been arrested at least 10 times attempting to duck through airport security, getting caught eight times in 2014 and twice in 2015. According to Chicago Police, Hartman was able to avoid the gate attendant by "blending in with the passengers". They did not however, reveal how she was able to get past the TSA checkpoints. While a TSA spokesperson did say Hartman was screened at the checkpoint, she was somehow able to get through without a ticket. Once on the aircraft, she hid in the bathroom then proceeded to find an empty seat. Upon reaching Heathrow, Hartman was caught without a passport and was sent back to the US where she was arrested upon arrival.
onto airplanes. She was arrested last Thursday on January 18th at Heathrow Airport in England after stowing away on an airplane and flying all the way from O'Hare Airport in Chicago. Hartman has been arrested at least 10 times attempting to duck through airport security, getting caught eight times in 2014 and twice in 2015. According to Chicago Police, Hartman was able to avoid the gate attendant by "blending in with the passengers". They did not however, reveal how she was able to get past the TSA checkpoints. While a TSA spokesperson did say Hartman was screened at the checkpoint, she was somehow able to get through without a ticket. Once on the aircraft, she hid in the bathroom then proceeded to find an empty seat. Upon reaching Heathrow, Hartman was caught without a passport and was sent back to the US where she was arrested upon arrival.
What confuses me in this event is the fact that Hartman was screened by the TSA, yet was able to get through the checkpoint without being asked for a ticket. Normally at airports, passengers are asked to show their boarding passes before going through security. These checkpoints are often tightly managed and it is easy to catch someone attempting to get passed them. The airport's inability to catch Hartman poses some serious questions about TSA's methods or the employees working there. While Hartman herself is (hopefully) not a dangerous individual, the revelation that somebody could get through the checkpoint is problematic.
2 comments:
The fact that she managed to get through without a ticket is very concerning and could simply have happened because of human error. (For example, she could have walked in while blending in with a large family and the TSA agents could have assumed that she was with that family). While I think this is concerning, I think most terrorists and other dangerous individuals who are attempting to get onto planes usually don't take the risk of not buying a ticket and are caught while their luggage is scanned.
Building on Meiling's comment, it is really frightening to know that someone can get through without a ticket. Hopefully TSA will be more thorough with their searches so that this doe not happen again
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