FBI Probes Man Who Shipped Self to Dallas

September 9, 2003
FBI Probes Man Who Shipped Self to Dallas
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS (AP) -- Charles D. McKinley had himself shipped from New York
to Dallas in an airline cargo crate, startling his parents -- and a
deliveryman -- when he broke out of the box outside their home.

``My husband asked him, `Man, what are you doing in this crate?' He
said he was coming home,'' his mother told KDFW-TV in Dallas.

Federal officials want to know how the stowaway bypassed airport
security.

McKinley, 25, a shipping clerk from New York, was arrested and jailed
on unrelated bad-check and traffic charges after his overnight
odyssey. Federal officials are considering additional charges of
stowing away on a plane.

In a rambling jailhouse interview, McKinley told KXAS-TV in Dallas
that he made the trip because he was homesick and a friend thought he
could save money by flying as cargo. McKinley said he took no food or
water on the 15-hour journey, just a cell phone, which did not work.

``I'm sitting there thinking, `Oh God, I don't know why I'm doing
this,''' he said. ``I'm sitting there thinking like any minute
somebody will notice that there's somebody sitting inside this crate.
.... No one did.''

Before setting out, McKinley filled out shipping instructions saying
the crate held a computer and clothes. Authorities believe he had help
from at least one co-worker at the warehouse where he works in New
York when he loaded himself in the box.

The box was taken by truck from New York's Kennedy Airport to New
Jersey. Then it was loaded onto a pressurized, heated cargo plane
operated by Kitty Hawk Cargo. It flew from Newark, N.J., to Niagara
Falls, N.Y., then to the carrier's hub in Fort Wayne, Ind., and on to
Dallas, the FBI said.

On Saturday, Billy Ray Thomas, a driver for Pilot Air Freight, picked
up the crate at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and delivered it to
McKinley's parents' home in suburban DeSoto.

When Thomas went to unload the 350-pound crate from his truck, he saw
a pair of eyes and thought there was a body inside.

Then McKinley broke the box open and crawled out, said police Lt.
Brian Windham.

McKinley's mother was stunned. The delivery driver called police.

DeSoto police said the crate measured 42 by 36 by 15 inches. McKinley
stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 170 pounds, authorities said.

Authorities said they did not know whether McKinley had any toilet
facilities. But the stowaway told the TV station that got out of the
crate during flights once or twice and walked around.

His box was carried in the pressurized, heated cabins, but could just
as easily have been placed in the lower, unpressurized holds, said
Richard G. Phillips, chief executive of Pilot Air Freight.

``He could easily have died,'' Phillips said.

The freight cost -- billed to McKinley's employer -- was $550. At that
rate, ``he could have flown first-class,'' Phillips said.

Investigators from the federal Transportation Security Administration
interviewed McKinley twice to learn how he got past security.

``We're not aware this has happened previously, so obviously it's
something we are investigating aggressively,'' TSA spokeswoman Suzanne
Luber said.

Air cargo receives less federal security attention than passenger
planes, in part because of its sheer volume, and critics have
suggested that terrorists could use cargo flights as weapons.

Other than the federal statute, District Attorney Bill Hill said he
could not cite any law that McKinley broke.

``He violated the law of stupidity if nothing else,'' Hill said.

=======================

must have seen The Simpsons episode where they did it

"colonel" wrote in message
...
September 9, 2003
FBI Probes Man Who Shipped Self to Dallas
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS (AP) -- Charles D. McKinley had himself shipped from New York
to Dallas in an airline cargo crate, startling his parents -- and a
deliveryman -- when he broke out of the box outside their home.

``My husband asked him, `Man, what are you doing in this crate?' He
said he was coming home,'' his mother told KDFW-TV in Dallas.

Federal officials want to know how the stowaway bypassed airport
security.

McKinley, 25, a shipping clerk from New York, was arrested and jailed
on unrelated bad-check and traffic charges after his overnight
odyssey. Federal officials are considering additional charges of
stowing away on a plane.

In a rambling jailhouse interview, McKinley told KXAS-TV in Dallas
that he made the trip because he was homesick and a friend thought he
could save money by flying as cargo. McKinley said he took no food or
water on the 15-hour journey, just a cell phone, which did not work.

``I'm sitting there thinking, `Oh God, I don't know why I'm doing
this,''' he said. ``I'm sitting there thinking like any minute
somebody will notice that there's somebody sitting inside this crate.
... No one did.''

Before setting out, McKinley filled out shipping instructions saying
the crate held a computer and clothes. Authorities believe he had help
from at least one co-worker at the warehouse where he works in New
York when he loaded himself in the box.

The box was taken by truck from New York's Kennedy Airport to New
Jersey. Then it was loaded onto a pressurized, heated cargo plane
operated by Kitty Hawk Cargo. It flew from Newark, N.J., to Niagara
Falls, N.Y., then to the carrier's hub in Fort Wayne, Ind., and on to
Dallas, the FBI said.

On Saturday, Billy Ray Thomas, a driver for Pilot Air Freight, picked
up the crate at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport and delivered it to
McKinley's parents' home in suburban DeSoto.

When Thomas went to unload the 350-pound crate from his truck, he saw
a pair of eyes and thought there was a body inside.

Then McKinley broke the box open and crawled out, said police Lt.
Brian Windham.

McKinley's mother was stunned. The delivery driver called police.

DeSoto police said the crate measured 42 by 36 by 15 inches. McKinley
stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 170 pounds, authorities said.

Authorities said they did not know whether McKinley had any toilet
facilities. But the stowaway told the TV station that got out of the
crate during flights once or twice and walked around.

His box was carried in the pressurized, heated cabins, but could just
as easily have been placed in the lower, unpressurized holds, said
Richard G. Phillips, chief executive of Pilot Air Freight.

``He could easily have died,'' Phillips said.

The freight cost -- billed to McKinley's employer -- was $550. At that
rate, ``he could have flown first-class,'' Phillips said.

Investigators from the federal Transportation Security Administration
interviewed McKinley twice to learn how he got past security.

``We're not aware this has happened previously, so obviously it's
something we are investigating aggressively,'' TSA spokeswoman Suzanne
Luber said.

Air cargo receives less federal security attention than passenger
planes, in part because of its sheer volume, and critics have
suggested that terrorists could use cargo flights as weapons.

Other than the federal statute, District Attorney Bill Hill said he
could not cite any law that McKinley broke.

``He violated the law of stupidity if nothing else,'' Hill said.

=======================

His box was carried in the pressurized, heated cabins, but could just
as easily have been placed in the lower, unpressurized holds, said
Richard G. Phillips, chief executive of Pilot Air Freight.


I thought that the lower hold was pressurised? Given that it's easier to
maintain a pressure hull that is cyclindrical? The only difference being the
amount of heat....

The freight cost -- billed to McKinley's employer -- was $550. At that
rate, ``he could have flown first-class,'' Phillips said.

If only!

--
CrazyOne | "I say what it occurs to me to say
aka Greg Pacek | when I think I hear people say
Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Earth | things. More I cannot say."