Texas man pleads guilty to sneaking onto Delta flight from Salt Lake City

A Delta Airlines plane. Photo: Unsplash

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A Texas man has pleaded guilty to a felony after sneaking onto a Delta Airlines flight and hiding in the plane’s lavatory to get a free ride to Austin, Texas.

Wicliff Yves Fleurizard, 26, from Leander, Texas, was indicted in April 2024 and admitted to the scheme during a recent court hearing.

According to court records, in March 2024, Fleurizard boarded Delta flight #1683 at Salt Lake City International Airport without a ticket. Surveillance footage showed him in the boarding area taking photos of passengers’ phones and boarding passes while they weren’t looking. He then used his own phone — appearing to mimic a boarding pass — to get past the gate agents and onto the plane, where he hid in the lavatory.

The flight had already pushed back from the gate when the situation was discovered, forcing the plane to return. Law enforcement met the aircraft, and Fleurizard was taken into custody.

Fleurizard is scheduled for sentencing on May 20, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. before a U.S. District Court Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in Salt Lake City. A previous press release stated Fleurizard was charged with being a stowaway on an aircraft, a national security crime, and access device fraud.

The case is being handled by the FBI Task Force in partnership with the Salt Lake City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan N. Reeves and Michael Kennedy are leading the prosecution.

The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Felice Viti of the District of Utah.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.