TSA says screening missteps allowed box cutters on flight

Mistakes in screening procedures by TSA employees allowed a passenger to bring two box cutters aboard a Frontier Airlines flight from Cincinnati to Tampa, Fla., the agency said on Sunday. The passenger, a man, approached a TSA checkpoint at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport with two backpacks around 5:30 p.m. local time on Friday. Video footage from a review of the incident showed the man putting the backpacks and loose items in a bin for screening. The TSA uses CT technology that creates a 3-D image that can be rotated and analyzed, Patricia Mancha, a spokeswoman for the agency, said. Mancha said that the “image review capabilities of the CT were not fully used” and that the passenger’s two box cutters were not identified during the screening. The passenger’s belongings were flagged for a further search, although it was unclear why, and one of the box cutters was then discovered. In violation of TSA policy, this box cutter was returned to the passenger after its blades were removed. “This is contrary to standard operating procedure, which requires these items to be placed in checked bags or voluntarily abandoned,” Mancha said. “The backpack containing the other box cutter, and the remainder of the traveler’s property, was screened for explosives, but the box cutter was not discovered.” The TSA, which has authority over security and passenger screening at US airports, prohibits box cutters in the cabin. The items are allowed in checked luggage. The TSA workers involved in the incident have been placed in a “training status for remediation on CT image review and physical search procedures,” Mancha said. <br/>