Two Men Hid In Ceiling Of B767 For 36 Hours

Investigators would like to know how two men were apparently able to sneak onboard an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767, and remain unseen for 36 hours until they were discovered at Washington's Dulles International Airport.

DC television station WUSA-9 reports the two men are Ethiopian nationals, and were part of a cleaning crew that serviced the plane at Addis Ababa Airport before its
departure to Rome, and onward to the United States.

The men were apparently able to hide in the ceiling of the aircraft, according to government officials. The two aren't suspected of any kind of terrorist activity, and will likely be charged with the misdemeanor offense of entering the US without inspection.

Former airline pilot Mark Weiss, who now serves as a security consultant to the Allied Pilots Association, told WUSA just because these men didn't mean to do any harm, doesn't necessarily mean a similar situation couldn't occur with more harmful consequences.

"I think one of the most important things is to continually recognize that we have to be vigilant, not only within this country, but around the world. Obviously if these people... and it is my understanding that they came in for economic reasons, then it leads one to believe that you can just as easily come in for more nefarious reasons," he said.

Weiss added it's possible for security at airports outside the country to be foiled, or bribed outright. "When you come through a process, a screening process, it asks the questions of vetting employees around the world, and what kind of oversight our government, our Transportation Security Agency, our State Department have in control over airlines that fly into the United States," he added.

Security expert Larry Johnson was even more blunt. "If you can store human bodies, you can certainly store a bomb or put weapons on board."

FMI: www.ethiopianairlines.com