Florida Man Charged After Scaling Airport Fence, Boarding JetBlue A320

A Florida man is facing felony charges after allegedly breaching perimeter security at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and gaining access to a parked JetBlue Airways Airbus A320, where employees discovered him sleeping in a lavatory early Sunday morning.

Samuel Prescott Lackey, 32, appeared before a Broward County judge this week on charges including criminal mischief, burglary of an occupied conveyance, and interrupting critical infrastructure. His bond has been set at $10,000. According to court documents, the incident resulted in flight delays costing the carrier approximately $2,400.

Surveillance footage from a private hangar at the airport reportedly shows an individual matching Lackey's description walking along a service road late Saturday evening. Authorities allege that Lackey scaled an eight-foot perimeter fence topped with barbed wire before making his way to a remote maintenance area where the aircraft had been parked overnight. He then climbed portable stairs left adjacent to the plane by maintenance personnel and entered the cabin, where he concealed himself in a restroom.

JetBlue staff discovered Lackey at approximately 5:00 AM Sunday and immediately contacted airport authorities. The incident has prompted questions about security protocols at the Florida gateway, particularly regarding how an individual could traverse multiple hangars and access an aircraft undetected. Lackey was reportedly out on parole from Louisiana on burglary charges at the time of the breach.

The Broward County Aviation Department confirmed in a statement that preliminary findings indicate the individual gained unauthorized access to both a private hangar and the JetBlue aircraft, which was positioned in a remote location away from the passenger terminal complex. An investigation into the security breach remains ongoing.