Feds investigating after man hops fence and sneaks into JetBlue plane at FLL

Federal officials are investigating a security breach over the weekend at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after a man snuck into a JetBlue aircraft during maintenance, according to the Broward County Aviation Department.

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Early Sunday morning, JetBlue staff found 32-year-old Sammuel Lackey on a 2012 Airbus A320 during a routine interior inspection, causing a service interruption for a scheduled flight, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

Lackey is accused of scaling an eight-foot fence topped with barbed wire along the perimeter of FLL to gain access to a private hangar, where the aircraft was parked overnight, a spokesperson for the Broward Aviation Department said in a Thursday statement.

The aircraft was in a remote hangar away from terminals with passengers, a spokesperson said. It’s unclear whether there were security cameras along the fence or in the maintenance building.

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JetBlue personnel allegedly found Lackey asleep aboard the plane, and he was arrested on charges of burglary, criminal mischief and interrupting critical infrastructure.

The incident is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Transportation Security Administration, a spokesperson said.

“As FLL’s operator, the Broward County Aviation Department is fully cooperating with federal authorities as they conduct their investigation, as maintaining a safe and secure airport is always a top priority,” a spokesperson said.

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Miami Herald Staff Writer Milena Malaver contributed to this report.