New York-bound flight cleared after LAX police search for man dressed as pilot near JetBlue plane

LAX
Los Angeles International Airport police were looking for a man reportedly dressed as a commercial airline pilot who disappeared on the jetway of a New York-bound flight Thursday morning, authorities said.

The incident happened about 6 a.m. in the bridge between Gate 31B at LAX’s Terminal 3 and a JetBlue aircraft preparing to take off to JFK airport in New York, airport officials said.

Checked luggage already was loaded, and passengers were preparing to board when an LAX employee encountered a man dressed as a pilot in the jetway, the hallway that corrals passengers onto the plane, LAX police Officer Rob Pedregon said.

The two exchanged pleasantries, but nothing memorable, Pedregon said. The uniformed person, who was not authorized to be there, was last seen in that area between the terminal and the aircraft, he said.

It didn’t seem suspicious until later, when the LAX employee heard from a coworker that none of the pilots were on board the plane yet.

“We don’t know who he was. We’re looking to see. He could be an employee that was mistaken,” Pedregon said.

Out of an abundance of caution, the plane was towed to a remote part of the airfield, where airport police and the LAPD bomb squad swept it for any suspicious items. The flight’s luggage was also rescreened.

The aircraft was cleared about 10:15 a.m., LAX officials said. The flight was originally scheduled to take off at 6:30 a.m., airport officials said.