Nov. 13 (UPI) — Mistakes committed by employees of the Transportation Security Administration resulted in a passenger to board a flight late last week with boxcutters in their carry-on luggage, officials admitted Sunday.
The Frontier Airlines flight departed Kentucky’s Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Friday evening, with a final destination of Tampa, Fla., but was rerouted to Atlanta after about two hours in response to a passenger being found with a box cutter on their person.
The TSA said in a statement Sunday that TSA agents at a checkpoint at the departing airport Friday evening failed to adhere to operating procedures, and have been order to undergo additional training in response.
The issues occurred when screening the man Friday evening at the departing airport, when the man presented the agents with two backpacks, which were screened using CT technology that creates a 3-D image that can ben examined 360 degrees, it said.
A a review of the incident found that “the image capabilities of the CT were not fully used” and “[t]he box cutters were not identified by the CT operator.”
The man’s luggage was flagged for an additional search, which uncovered one of the box cutters, it said, adding that instead of the prohibited item being placed in checked luggage or voluntarily abandoned, “the visible blades” were removed from the box cutter and provided back to the man.
“This is contrary to standard operation procedure,” the TSA said.
The backpack containing the second box cutter also underwent additional screening, this time for explosives, but the prohibited item was not found.
Along with the involved agents undergoing additional training on CT image review and physical search procedures, the TSA said it was also conducting shift briefs on the incident for all Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport employees with reminders on proper disposition of box cutters and other prohibited items found during searches.
“Statewide refresher training is being scheduled for CT image review, with emphasis on use of the image rotation and manipulation tools for optimal detection,” TSA said. “Nationally, TSA will issue a shift brief for all screening employees on this incident with reminders on use of the technology tools and prohibited items.”
