Pilot pleads guilty to flying from Mexico to Oklahoma with gun in plane

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — On Thursday, a 31-year-old pilot from Oklahoma City pleaded guilty to unlawfully entering the U.S. in plane while transporting a firearm under a previous criminal indictment.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Aiman Sobhy Elkhatib was charged on June 17, 2024, with transportation of a firearm while under indictment and knowingly bringing migrants into the country.

Court records show agents with Homeland Security Investigations received information that an aircraft had unlawfully entered the U.S. from Mexico and failed to stop for a customs inspection.

Agents then found the plane occupied by Elkhatib and another unnamed person at Sundance Airport in Yukon, and seized a gun they found in the plane during a search.

At the time of the incident, Elkhatib was under a criminal indictment in Oklahoma County where he previously pleaded guilty to larceny of an automobile, second degree burglary, and possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony.

On Thursday, Elkhatib pleaded guilty to flying from Mexico through Texas to Oklahoma while knowingly carrying a firearm in the plane.

Elkhatib faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 at his sentencing hearing.