A man is behind bars in Florida after investigators say he sneaked onto a JetBlue plane parked for maintenance and fell asleep inside it. Authorities identified him as 32-year-old Samuel Lackey, who now faces multiple charges over what was described as a bizarre breach of security near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The aircraft involved was an Airbus A320 that had been parked for maintenance rather than being in passenger service at the time.
Investigators say the sequence began when Lackey climbed a fence and entered a maintenance area near the airport. From there, according to the account, he made his way onto the Airbus A320 that was sitting parked for maintenance. The jet was on the ground for that work rather than being prepared to carry passengers when the man reached it, investigators said.
According to the sheriff's office, the man then climbed up a set of portable boarding stairs and slipped onto the aircraft through a door that had been left unlocked. Deputies say that once inside, he hid in the aircraft's bathroom for hours, remaining on board and out of sight while the plane stayed parked in the maintenance area.
The situation came to light on Sunday morning, when workers carrying out a routine inspection of the parked jet found the man asleep on board. It was that inspection that led to his discovery, according to investigators, after he had already spent hours inside the aircraft without being noticed by anyone working around it.
After he was found, the aircraft was grounded. That decision forced a delay and, according to the account, a last-minute aircraft change for the flight the plane had been due to operate. The move disrupted the airline's plans for that service while the jet was taken out of the schedule to be dealt with.
Lackey was taken into custody and now faces multiple charges in connection with the incident. He is being held in the Broward County jail on a 10,000-dollar bond, according to authorities. ABC News said it reached out to both JetBlue and the airport for comment on the breach but had not received a response.