Charles McKinley in Dallas jail cell yesterday, three days after stunning his parents and flooring deliveryman by popping out of air cargo box at journey's end.

A man shipped himself from New York to Dallas in an airline cargo crate because he thought it was the cheapest way to fly.

Charles McKinley startled his parents by breaking out of a box as it was delivered to their home.
McKinley, 25, a shipping clerk from New York, was arrested and jailed on unrelated charges after his overnight trip.

Federal officials are now considering additional charges of stowing away on a plane.
McKinley said he made the trip because he was homesick and a friend thought he could save money by flying as cargo - in fact he could have flown first class for the same price.

McKinley, who had no food or water on the 15-hour journey, said: "I'm sitting there thinking, 'Oh God, I don't know why I'm doing this'. I'm sitting there thinking like any minute somebody will notice that there's somebody sitting inside this crate. No-one did."

Before setting out, McKinley filled out shipping instructions saying the crate held a computer and clothes.

The box was loaded onto a pressurised, heated cargo plane and flew from Newark, New Jersey, to Niagara Falls, New York, then to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and on to Dallas.

Billy Ray Thomas, who delivered it to McKinley's parents' home, spotted a pair of eyes peering out and thought there was a body inside.

After McKinley broke it open and crawled out Thomas called the police.
District Attorney Bill Hill said: "He violated the law of stupidity if nothing else."