But why. I hate flying
But why. I hate flying
On March 15th, serial stowaway Marilyn Hartman was interviewed by WBBM in Chicago, describing how she stowed away in at least 30 flights over a period of 20 years. Read that story at this link:
>Just one day later, Hartman was caught at O'Hare International Airport. It's not clear if she was planning on trying to sneak on to another flight, since she was caught on the non-secure side of the airport, not yet having breached any TSA checkpoints. She was on home confinement, and was tracked down after her ankle monitor stopped pinging. She was arrested.
>In her first media interview ever - which came prior to the latest brush with the law - the 69-year-old Hartman opened up to CBS2 about her stunning history of illegal joyrides around the country and across the world. Hartman estimated that she managed to get onto at least 30 flights illegally since 2002.
>Asked how she managed to get by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints, Hartman's explanation was startling simple. "I got by them - this is the thing that is so crazy - by following someone they would be carrying like a blue bag," she said. "And the next thing I know, I get into the TSA line and TSA lets me through, and they think I'm with the guy with the blue bag."
>A CBS2 review of court records and police reports showed that Hartman was repeatedly caught carrying a boarding pass from another passenger or arriving in another country without documentation to get through Customs. But those accounts only tell part of Hartman's story, as she claims to have flown under the radar - quite literally - for 12 years before authorities first caught on to her scheme. Records show Hartman was arrested in at least 20 airport incidents between 2014 and 2019. Over that period TSA agents became well acquainted with her face and ultimately started calling for back-up as soon as they spotted her.
>The last time she successfully boarded a plane without a ticket was in January 2018, when she slipped past security at O'Hare and took a seat on a British Airways flight to London Heathrow. But her plan was foiled upon arrival in the United Kingdom, where border officials discovered that she didn't have proper documentation. Hartman was then shuttled back to Chicago, where she was charged with felony theft and misdemeanor trespass. She was released from custody and ordered to wear an ankle monitor and undergo psychiatric evaluation. She later pleaded guilty to the trespassing charge and was sentenced to 18 months probation. She says her bipolar disorder was behind the relentless urge to travel, explaining that she took the flights whenever she fell into a depressive episode.
>Hartman's last trip to O'Hare came in October 2019, when officers spotted her trying to get through a security checkpoint without a boarding pass. She was charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, and probation violation. She is expected to enter a plea sometime this spring.
On March 15th, serial stowaway Marilyn Hartman was interviewed by WBBM in Chicago, describing how she stowed away in at least 30 flights over a period of 20 years. Read that story at this link:
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2021/03/15/serial-stowaway-marilyn-hartman-explains-how-she-repeatedly-got-past-airport-security-the-story-is-crazy/
>>Just one day later, Hartman was caught at O'Hare International Airport. It's not clear if she was planning on trying to sneak on to another flight, since she was caught on the non-secure side of the airport, not yet having breached any TSA checkpoints. She was on home confinement, and was tracked down after her ankle monitor stopped pinging. She was arrested.
>>In her first media interview ever - which came prior to the latest brush with the law - the 69-year-old Hartman opened up to CBS2 about her stunning history of illegal joyrides around the country and across the world. Hartman estimated that she managed to get onto at least 30 flights illegally since 2002.
>>Asked how she managed to get by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints, Hartman's explanation was startling simple. "I got by them - this is the thing that is so crazy - by following someone they would be carrying like a blue bag," she said. "And the next thing I know, I get into the TSA line and TSA lets me through, and they think I'm with the guy with the blue bag."
>>A CBS2 review of court records and police reports showed that Hartman was repeatedly caught carrying a boarding pass from another passenger or arriving in another country without documentation to get through Customs. But those accounts only tell part of Hartman's story, as she claims to have flown under the radar - quite literally - for 12 years before authorities first caught on to her scheme. Records show Hartman was arrested in at least 20 airport incidents between 2014 and 2019. Over that period TSA agents became well acquainted with her face and ultimately started calling for back-up as soon as they spotted her.
>>The last time she successfully boarded a plane without a ticket was in January 2018, when she slipped past security at O'Hare and took a seat on a British Airways flight to London Heathrow. But her plan was foiled upon arrival in the United Kingdom, where border officials discovered that she didn't have proper documentation. Hartman was then shuttled back to Chicago, where she was charged with felony theft and misdemeanor trespass. She was released from custody and ordered to wear an ankle monitor and undergo psychiatric evaluation. She later pleaded guilty to the trespassing charge and was sentenced to 18 months probation. She says her bipolar disorder was behind the relentless urge to travel, explaining that she took the flights whenever she fell into a depressive episode.
>>Hartman's last trip to O'Hare came in October 2019, when officers spotted her trying to get through a security checkpoint without a boarding pass. She was charged with burglary, criminal trespassing, and probation violation. She is expected to enter a plea sometime this spring.
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