New Zealand Stowaway Held After Arrival at LAX

A New Zealand teenager, who apparently breached several levels of airport security, stowed away on a United Airlines flight and was apprehended after landing Friday morning at Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.

Kinnear Penman, 16, boarded Flight 842 without a ticket at Auckland and hid in the passenger cabin, New Zealand authorities said. The youth managed to get through at least four levels of security and check-ins, they added.

Officers from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and airport police detained the teenager shortly after the plane’s arrival about 10 a.m., authorities said. Federal Aviation Administration security officials denied receiving any report Friday of a stowaway, but the FBI confirmed that Penman was aboard the flight.

United Airlines officials in New Zealand said Penman, who is from Whangarei, north of Auckland, was scheduled to return home Friday night aboard another United flight.