For some people, the requisite 15 minutes of fame seems like 14:59 too much. Such is the case for Charles McKinley (25, of New York City), who came to national attention when he air-mailed himself from his workplace in Newark, NJ, to his parents house in TX.

This little stunt created quite a furor in the air security community who immediately popped up with all kinds of excuses for how this happened and the obligatory mega-buck bureaucratic funding requests to make sure that nothing like this could ever happen again.

The stunt inspired Pilot Air Freight Chairman, President and CEO Richard G. Phillips (right), to issue the following official statement:

"The recent incident of a man shipping himself from New York to Dallas via air freight highlights the effectiveness of the TSA Known Shipper Program and how it is safeguarding American skies. The shipment in question was originated by UPS and consigned to Pilot Air Freight, which rigidly complied with the Known Shipper Program and routed the shipment to an all-cargo transport, Kitty Hawk Cargo. The end result is that through Pilot Air Freight's diligence no passengers were placed at risk.

"It is unfortunate that one individual would choose to flaunt air regulations. However, Pilot Air Freight's strict adherence to TSA regulations establishes that commerce and safety are not mutually exclusive, and that the government's procedures are effective."

In the McKinley case, the story was made all the more bizarre in that McKinley was wanted by TX authorities... so when the cops were informed as to his presence in the Desoto, TX area, as well as the means by which he arrived; they showed up and threw his butt in the slammer. Soon after shaking the hand of a very surprised delivery driver, he was arrested there on outstanding Texas warrants. And then the Feds starting making noises about the stowaway caper and subsequently charged him with the misdemeanor offense of stowaway on an aircraft. This was turning out to NOT be McKinley's best idea....

US Magistrate Judge Charles Bleil of Fort Worth released McKinley pending trial, Monday, setting a hearing date of Nov. 10th for the stowaway charges. For McKinley, it was his first free moments in some three weeks... a pretty tough price to pay for what he called a "prank." His freedom, though, is conditional. McKinley must stay within Dallas and Tarrant counties, and obey a curfew at his parent's home... as well as seek employment (having lost his job in NYC... no doubt when his employers got that air freight bill...). Bleil has also forbidden McKinley from seeking a passport.

McKinley's family has reportedly paid UPS some $6,800 in restitution to compensate them for their "troubles," though a bargain airfare would have cost him all of $200-$300.

FMI: www.ups.com