Man Responsible for Newark Airport Kiss Chaos Pleads Guilty
Travel News — By Molly McGonigle on March 10, 2010 at 3:36 pmHaisong Jiang, the man responsible for delaying 16,000 passengers in New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport faced his day in court yesterday. Jiang pleaded guilty to defiant trespassing, which comes out to a very minor offense that will be expunged from his record in five years. Jiang will avoid jail time by completing 100 hours of community service and a $US544 fine. Jiang apologized saying “I made big mistake, and I also learned a big lesson in my life.”
On January 3, 2010, Jiang snuck past security to spend twenty extra minutes with his girlfriend before her flight to California. After his girlfriend’s departure, Jiang left the airport and returned home. It took five days before he realized that he was responsible for the massive security breach forcing 16,000 travelers who had already gone through security to retrace their steps and be re-screened during the holiday rush at the airport. This lapse in security prompted the cancellation or delays of over 200 flights out of one of New York’s three major airports. Jiang promptly turned himself over to the police but stood by what he deemed innocent intentions.
This botched security job heightened travelers’ fears after the Christmas security breach that happened a few weeks previously. Video surveillance shows Jiang hovering near the security check point. The main security guard is seen asking Jiang to step away from the rope barrier. But within moments, the security guard walks away from his check point and Jiang sneaks past security.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpTl6ASbMjI[/youtube]
Since Jiang’s incident at Newark Airport, additional measures have been taken to protect travelers in the U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey has created a new legislation with civil penalties of up to $10,000 fine or a criminal penalty of 10 years for purposefully breaching security measures put in place by airports. This new legislation would also require that every airport security check point has cameras, which at this point is a mere recommendation for airports.
[Image: Blmurch/Flickr]
1 Comment
I think Sen. Lautenberg’s proposed legislation is a step in the right direction. The penalty for this kind of mindless offense is simply not commensurate to the inconvenience done to thousands of passengers, not to mention the millions of dollars of lost revenues on the part of the airlines. On the other hand, while this incident was caused by a love sick man who wasn’t thinking before he crossed the security barrier, it could have been much worse. It exposes a serious lapse in security, one that must be addressed to reassure the public. Hopefully, the proposed senate bill will help plug this leak.