PHOENIX — A man is facing multiple charges after police say he got past a fence into a restricted area at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport and activated a plane's emergency slide.
Police said a passenger saw Zackaria Mohamud Mudasir entering the secure area of Terminal 2 from the closed jetway on the airfield at Gate 3 around 2:15 a.m. Tuesday.
The passenger let a police officer know, and the officer went to confront Mudasir. Police said Mudasir did not provide an ID and gave a false name to the officer.
The area where Mudasir was coming from has a sign saying “no trespassing,” and police said Mudasir gave several different accounts of how he got there.
Police took Mudasir into custody, and he admitted to getting on a United Airlines plane and activating an emergency escape slide, according to police.
Mudasir also told police he had no plane ticket and no reason to be at the airport.
According to a TSA spokesperson, the incident "involved a fence breach at the airport, not involving a TSA checkpoint."
12 News has reached out to representatives at Sky Harbor to find out if existing security measures are under review.
United Airlines said the slide Mudasir deployed will cost them $40,000.
Mudasir was booked into the Maricopa County Jail and charged with criminal trespass, criminal damage and failure to provide a true and lawful name.