City Sees Little Outrage Over Stowaway Investigation

CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — There has been relatively little public backlash after Massachusetts officials announced last week that they think a Charlotte teenager managed to breach security at Charlotte Douglas International Airport and stow away on a commercial jetliner.

VIDEO: City Sees Little Outrage Over Stowaway Investigation

Though a police task force will investigate how Delvonte Tisdale may have gained access to a airplane at Charlotte Douglas, local leaders don't seem as concerned as one may expect.

Tisdale's mangled body was found Nov. 15 in Milton, Mass. Last week, officials in Massachusetts confirmed that they think Tisdale stowed away in the wheel well of a Boeing 737 flight from Charlotte to Boston. The neighborhood where his body was found is in the flight path of planes headed to Logan International Airport.

Norfolk, Mass., District Attorney William Keating said that the investigation into Tisdale's death points to a "major breach of airport security."

RAW VIDEO: Norfolk D.A. Details Timeline In Tisdale Case

RAW VIDEO: Norfolk D.A.: There Better Be A Full Investigation

If Tisdale did manage to stow away, some Charlotte passengers and a worker that Eyewitness News spoke to said they see it as a major security breakdown.

"(You know) what I have to go through as an employee to get through, so I can't even imagine, seriously," employee Sandra Boyd said.

In the past, local leaders have been quick to speak out about city issues, like when workers accused City Councilman Warren Turner of sexual harassment and when the light rail project was over budget. But now, when it comes to the arguable bigger issue of airport security, local leaders are not crying foul or demanding answers.

The city oversees the airport, but the city manager and almost all elected officials did not return Eyewitness News' calls or e-mails by 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Mayor Anthony Foxx said the apparent lack of outrage is a matter of city officials stepping aside for federal officials.

"When Homeland Security got involved, we obviously wanted to be deferential to their intent, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't have gone through an investigation process ourselves," Foxx said.

City Councilman Edwin Peacock and another council member said they want more information and will then ask hard questions of airport leaders if necessary.

Passenger Lori Laszlo said that's what she assumed would happen in the investigation.

"I mean, there's going to be an uproar at one point, but there's a lot of different divisions to go through to figure out who and what happened and why it even happened," she said.

WSOC