HOME ALONE 6, WHAT DOESN’T HAPPEN IN VEGAS DOESN’T STAY IN VEGAS
As the government remains shutdown, Americans eagerly await negotiations as the government will hit its $16.7 trillion borrowing limit on October 17. Amid the shutdown, the news has not ceased; and while the government will have to face the music and end this before the country hits the debt ceiling, the music hasn’t stopped either as a “heartbroken” Justin Bieber dropped a new single this weekend. Since we’re not holding our breath on the government negotiations, this Trending News Monday we’re bringing you one of the weekend’s more surprising yet alarming headlines.
A nine-year-old boy boards a plane alone—without a boarding pass to his destination—and travels across the country to his destination. This sounds like a plot line to one of America’s favorite Christmas holiday movies; however, this actually happened this past weekend.
Yesterday morning, a young boy arrived alone at Minneapolis/ St. Paul International Airport for the second day in a row. However, unlike his first trip to the airport, this time the boy made it through security and boarded a Delta Air Lines flight to Las Vegas, Nevada all without a ticket.
While in flight, crew members noticed the unattended boy and contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. When the plane touched down in Sin City, Child Protective Services took the boy into custody, and the airport believes the young Twin-Cities native runaway was returned to his parents.
The fact that the boy cleared several security check points and boarded a plane without a ticket concerns both American citizens and the airport from which the boy departed.
CNN reported that Patrick Hogan, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport spokesperson, said “Obviously, the fact that the child’s actions weren’t detected until he was in flight is concerning.”
While the crew took the proper action and the boy caused no harm to himself or his fellow passengers, his story is still alarming. Especially in a post-9/11 world with extensive TSA rules and regulations, nobody—especially not a little boy—should be able to dupe security and board a plane.
Cover Photo Source: Kentaro IEMOTO via Flickr
