TSA to Increase Training After Passenger Boards With 2 Box Cutters
(CNN) -- The Transportation Security Administration is admitting multiple failures and is instituting alerts to security officers at airports nationwide after a man got through a checkpoint with two box cutters.
The move comes as passengers are expected to flood airports ahead of Thanksgiving.TSA security checkpoint agents at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport failed to adhere to protocol Friday evening when they discovered a box cutter in a man's carry-on luggage, later causing an emergency diversion when the man allegedly threatened passengers when the plane was in-flight, according to a TSA statement and a passenger on the flight.The TSA said in a statement released Sunday that it reviewed Friday's incident and found the agents did not fully use the technology at their disposal which would have identified the box cutters inside the passenger's carry-on luggage, nor did they follow protocol when they returned the "visible blades" back to the passenger after an inspection.The male passenger, who has not yet been identified, approached the TSA checkpoint around 5:30 p.m.
on Friday at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) with a ticket for a Frontier Airlines flight to Tampa International Airport (TPA), the TSA said.
He showed his identification, including a temporary Ohio drivers' license, and underwent physical screening, the agency said.The traveler then presented two backpacks and put his loose items into a bin for additional screening, the TSA said, which were screened using CT technology that "creates a 3-D image that can be rotated 360 degrees for a thorough analysis."The Frontier Airlines Flight 1761 was diverted to Atlanta after the man was seen with a box cutter and allegedly.
