A woman who became known as the 'Serial Stowaway' after sneaking onto dozens of flights has revealed how she managed to get past security and onto planes without any trouble.
For nearly two decades, 69-year-old Marilyn Hartman managed to fly across the world without a ticket.
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In her first interview ever, Hartman has spoken out about her unusual travel hobby, estimating that she had managed to get onto at least 30 flights illegally since 2002.
Speaking to CBS 2 from Cook County Jail in Chicago, where she's currently awaiting trial, Hartman said: "The first time I was able to get through I flew to Copenhagen.
"The second time I flew into Paris."
It wasn't until around 12 years later that she popped onto the radar of law enforcement, with a judge telling her in August 2014 - after she'd flown from San Jose to Los Angeles without a ticket - not to do it again.
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But she did, and was put onto the 'trespass list' in January 2015 before being labelled a 'habitual stowaway' in official documents - making her last successful journey in January 2018.
Hartman said her habit could be linked to her bipolar disorder, which she had 'rejected for years'.
She explained she took flights whenever she found herself experiencing a depressed episode, saying: "When I took the plane ride, I wasn't happy.
"It wasn't, 'Oh, I'm going here or there' - I was actually in a depressed state of mind."
CBS reporter Brad Edwards asked Hartman how she managed to get past Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints, and her response was surprisingly straightforward.
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She continued: "I got by them, this is the thing that is so crazy, by following someone - they would be carrying like a blue bag.
"And the next thing I know, I get into the TSA line and TSA lets me through, and they think I'm with the guy with the blue bag."
Aviation security expert Jeff Price said it's often 'unsophisticated' plans like Hartman's that work.
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He said: "For her to be able to repeat that over and over, that is just mind boggling.
"The genius of her mode of operation is in its simplicity."
Price added: "It's the unsophisticated types of plans are often the most successful."
Featured Image Credit: Chicago Police Department