This story would be laughable if the implications to airplane security weren't so frightening.

A homesick shipping clerk had himself shipped from New York to Dallas in an airline cargo crate, startling his parents -- and a deliveryman -- when he broke out of the box outside their home.

Here's how the stowaway prepared:

McKinley said he took no food or water on the 15-hour journey, just a cell phone, which did not work.

...

Authorities said they did not know whether McKinley had any toilet facilities. But the stowaway told the TV station that got out of the crate during flights once or twice and walked around.

Great. So the guy was peeing in the cargo hold.

His box was carried in the pressurized, heated cabins, but could just as easily have been placed in the lower, unpressurized holds, said Richard G. Phillips, chief executive of Pilot Air Freight.

"He could easily have died," Phillips said.

The freight cost -- billed to McKinley's employer -- was $550. At that rate, "he could have flown first-class," Phillips said.

Okay, so this guy is a moron. I guess he figured that his company wouldn't notice a $550 shipping expense, besides the fact that his head could have imploded in an unpressurized cargo hold.

But the lesson to terrorists, and Americans, is pretty clear.

I don't see how airplanes are going to be secure without every piece of luggage and freight being x-rayed, and I'm not sure if that's feasible. Wasn't there supposed to be legislation requiring this, though?