Of course, it wasn't actually bin Laden, but Christian Boncorps, a drunk Yonkers man with a grey beard, who approached the ticket counter to get a boarding pass for his Paris-bound flight, the New York Post reports.
The ticket agent asked what Boncorps had in his bag, thinking he might have extra alcohol for the long-haul flight. That's when the obviously-intoxicated Boncorps said he his name was bin Laden and he had a bomb in his page.
The next part of the story gets...bothersome. The ticket clerk brought Boncorps to the TSA to get a regular screening (no word if the agent issued him a boarding pass or not).
TSA agents then took 40 minutes to decide to call the cops, at which point Boncorps was finished with security and was putting his shoes back on (his luggage was already on the flight).
A spokeswoman for the TSA told the Post: "TSA continues to look into the circumstances surrounding this matter. However, travelers can be assured that every TSA and airport employee is trained to take any and all threats seriously and notify law enforcement to ensure the safety of the airport and air travelers."
Paul Nunziato, president of the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, had some harsher words for the TSA. "We got lucky that this passenger wasn't a serious threat. Countless lives were placed in jeopardy by the TSA's failure to follow its own security protocols. If the statements made by the passenger warranted calling the police, then that call must be made immediately and before the passenger entered the screening point."
Boncorps was charged with filing a false report and later plead guilty to disorderly conduct in a Queens court, for which he was charged a $250 fine.
It's been a while (just kidding!) since a drunk passenger got involved in air travel. In April a drunk passenger from Dallas to Paris forced an American Airlines flight to make an emergency landing in Chicago.
