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San Jose Stowaway Vows To Not Sneak On Planes Again

LOS ANGELES (CBS SF) -- A woman who snuck onto a plane at Mineta San Jose International Airport and flew to Los Angeles says she wouldn't dare to sneak on a plane again after pleading no contest Wednesday.

UPDATE: San Jose Stowaway Arrested Again At LAX, One Day After Her Release From Jail

As Marilyn Hartman got out of the courtroom Wednesday afternoon, she gave a rambling interview.

The 64-year-old says she has no family, and has been in and out of homeless shelters for years. She talked about how she was a child of the sixties and that her actions at the airport was a way to draw attention to problems there.

But she said she knows what she did was wrong and inappropriate.

She pleaded guilty to willfully and unlawfully stowing away on a plane, which is a misdemeanor.

Sources say she tailgated a large family at the TSA security line then tried multiple times before finally sneaking past the Southwest Airlines gate agent and onto the plane to LAX.

Hartman did not give specific details about how she did it.

"I am an American first and foremost," Hartman said. "I believe very strongly in the security of this country, and so in that regard that was very stupid. I certainly have no idea or could give no hints to anyone that would be interested in doing that because it was wrong."

Hartman said she just has a few dollars to her name and is now stuck in Los Angeles and can't do much more than pray.

Both the TSA and Mineta Airport officials insist that this was not a security breach.

"There are a number of processes the TSA can speak regarding the security screen process," Mineta's spokesperson Rosemary Barnes said. "What's important here is that she was screened by the TSA for prohibited items before boarding the flight. We are working with [the TSA and Southwest] to support them as they investigate what did occur so they can prevent that from happening again."

The TSA released a statement saying, "The Agency has initiated minor modifications to the layout of the document checking area to prevent another incident like this one."

Hartman served her three days in jail and will be on probation for two years.

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