Posts tagged "Transportation Security Administration"

Seattle airport disrupted by security breach

Passengers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport were backed up Tuesday night after a security breach was caused when a passenger entered a secure area through an exit.

Authorities cleared several concourses until the passenger was located, meaning other passengers in those concourses had to leave the area.

KCPQ reports about 1,500 passengers later had to be re-screened through security checkpoints.

Sea-Tac spokesman Perry Cooper says police and Transportation Security Administration officials located the errant passenger about 9:30 p.m. He says the security breach involved a misunderstanding.

After the man was cleared, passengers began the re-screening process.

Click for more from KCPQ.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

TSA stands by plan to allow small knives on planes

The head of the Transportation Security Administration told lawmakers Thursday he stands by his plan to allow passengers to carry small knives onto planes despite a growing backlash against the proposal.

It’s unlikely in these days of hardened cockpit doors and other preventative measures that the small folding knives could be used by terrorists to take over a plane, TSA Administrator John Pistole told a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee.

On the other hand, searching for the knives on passengers or in their carry-on bags is time consuming, Pistole said. TSA screeners confiscate about 2,000 such knives every day, with each incident chewing up about two to three minutes, he said.

“I think the decision is solid and it stands and we plan to move forward,” Pistole said.

The policy, which goes into effect April 25, has sparked strong opposition from flight attendants, federal air marshals, some pilot unions, and even aviation insurers. In the hands of the wrong passengers, the knives can be used to harm flight attendants and other passengers, critics say.

Several airline CEOs have also expressed qualms. Delta Air Lines chief executive Richard Anderson said in a letter to Pistole last week that he shares the “legitimate concerns” of the airline’s flight attendants. US Airways chief Doug Parker asked the TSA administrator to reconsider his position.

Several members of the House committee also urged Pistole to drop the proposal, warning that if he doesn’t, Congress may take steps to block the policy change.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks there have been no incidents in which terrorists have successfully used sharp objects to take over a plane, which suggests the current policy of keeping even small knives off planes is working, committee members said.

“How does allowing sharp objects on board now accomplish maintaining the goal of having zero planes taken over?” asked Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. “I’m asking why now, and why do we want to go back?”

The lack of instances in which terrorists try to use knives to take over a plane underscores that their tactics have shift to using explosive devices instead, which what TSA is devoting its energies to finding, Pistole said. He noted that the proposed policy would mostly conform U.S. regulations with international standards, which were changed in 2010 to allow these types of small knives to be carried by passengers. Yet none has been used in a terrorist incident so far, he said.

Even though the agency is focused on new threats, “it doesn’t mean old threats don’t still exist,” Swalwell responded.

Pistole acknowledged that the knives could be used to injure people on a plane, but he said that’s not the TSA’s responsibility.

“It really comes down to the mission of TSA,” he said. “Is it to prevent disturbances by inebriated passengers on board? I don’t think so.”

There are already items on board planes that can be used to harm someone, “whether it’s in first class (with) a metal knife or fork, or whether it’s a wine glass or a wine bottle that they break and use,” Pistole said.

The agency is focused on identifying which passengers may have dangerous intentions rather than looking at objects that could be misused, he said.

“If we focus only on objects then we’re always behind the eight ball,” Pistole said.

Besides knives, the policy will also allow passengers to include in their carry-on luggage novelty-size baseball bats less than 24 inches (610 millimeters) long, toy plastic bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and two golf clubs. Items like box cutters and razor blades are still prohibited.

Knives permitted under the policy must be able to fold up and have blades that are 2.36 inches (60 millimeters) or less in length and are less than a half-inch (127 millimeters) wide. The policy is aimed at allowing passengers to carry pen knives, corkscrews with small blades and other small knives.

There has been a gradual easing of some of the security measures applied to airline passengers after 9/11. In 2005, the TSA changed its policies to allow passengers to carry on airplanes small scissors, knitting needles, tweezers, nail clippers and up to four books of matches. And in September 2011, the TSA no longer required children 12 years old and under to remove their shoes at airport checkpoints. The agency recently issued new guidelines for travelers 75 and older so they can avoid removing shoes and light jackets when they go through airport security checkpoints.

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Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

Police reportedly arrest man with loaded gun at New Jersey airport

Officials say a Pennsylvania man was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport after screeners noticed a loaded gun in his carry-on bag.

The Star-Ledger of Newark reports that 59-year-old Robert Kellerman of Long Pond was taken into custody just after 6 a.m. Sunday by Port Authority police. They were notified after Transportation Security Administration screeners saw the .22-caliber handgun at a checkpoint inside Terminal C.

Kellerman was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon. Officials say Kellerman told police he forgot the gun was inside the bag.

A telephone number for Kellerman could not be located Sunday afternoon.

Airline passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage. They must be stored properly and unloaded.

Police: Man arrested at NJ airport with loaded gun

Officials say a Pennsylvania man was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport after screeners noticed a loaded gun in his carry-on bag.

The Star-Ledger of Newark (http://bit.ly/VYP1I9) reports that 59-year-old Robert Kellerman of Long Pond was taken into custody just after 6 a.m. Sunday by Port Authority police. They were notified after Transportation Security Administration screeners saw the .22-caliber handgun at a checkpoint inside Terminal C.

Kellerman was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon. Officials say Kellerman told police he forgot the gun was inside the bag.

A telephone number for Kellerman could not be located Sunday afternoon.

Airline passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage. They must be stored properly and unloaded.

Police: Airport security officer killed in Ohio

Authorities in Cleveland say a man fatally shot his airport-security-officer wife, fired at a second person, and then killed himself at an off-site airport employee parking lot.

Police spokesman Sgt. Sammy Morris says the shooting late Sunday morning on the employee parking lot of the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport was an apparent homicide and suicide.

The police spokesman says the man fired at another Transportation Security Administration employee who was commuting to work with the man’s estranged wife but missed.

The shooting occurred at the Riveredge airport employee parking lot, located north of the airport in an industrial area along Interstate 480. No names were immediately released.

Police were not sure of a motive for the shooting.

Shotgun shell found at seat delays Delta plane in Milwaukee

Passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight were taken off a plane in Milwaukee and rescreened after a man found a live shotgun shell at his seat.

Milwaukee County sheriff’s spokeswoman Fran McLaughlin says the passenger notified flight crew at about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday of the live shotgun shell while it was at General Mitchell International Airport.

She says deputies and Transportation Security Administration officials had the passengers leave the plane and screened them again and found nothing. She says a canine unit also swept the plane and didn’t find anything.

The passengers again boarded the plane, which was bound for Detroit.

Delta spokesman Michael Thomas says the flight was delayed about an hour and landed safely in Detroit at 9:55 a.m.

Man with strange watch arrested at Calif. airport

A Southern California man was arrested at Oakland International Airport after security officers found him wearing an unusual watch they said could be used to make a timing device for a bomb, authorities said Friday.

Geoffrey McGann, 49, of Rancho Palos Verdes was taken into custody Thursday night after he tried to pass through airport security with an ornate watch that had switches, wires and fuses, according to Sgt. J.D. Nelson, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department.

A bomb squad arrived within five minutes and determined there were no explosive materials in the watch, Nelson said. The checkpoint was closed while officers secured the area.

McGann was taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin where he was charged with possessing materials to make an explosive device, sheriff’s officials said. He was still in custody Friday night and could not be reached for comment.

McGann told Transportation Security Administration officers that he’s an artist and the watch is art, Nelson said.

While no actual explosives were found, McGann was carrying potentially dangerous materials and appeared to have made alterations to his boots, which were unusually large and stuffed with layers of insoles, Nelson said.

A profile for a person named Geoffrey McGann on the website LinkedIn.com lists him as the owner and creative director of a media production company called Generator Content. He attended the Art College Center of Design in Pasadena from 1984 to 1987, according to the website.

Alaska airport terminal evacuated following bomb threat

A terminal at Alaska’s main airport was evacuated early Sunday after a passenger made reference to a bomb in luggage, officials said.

The terminal at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport was cleared as authorities searched through baggage, airport manager John Parrott said.

He said the incident began a little after midnight (1 a.m. PDT) when the man, who was traveling with two male companions, made a reference to a bomb in a bag that had been checked into luggage.

Travelers were evacuated to another terminal, while police and others search the luggage. Parrott said that so far, no explosive has turned up.

He said the three men were being interviewed by authorities. He declined to release any more information about them except to say that Anchorage was their point of departure. Parrott didn’t have details on their destination.

“We don’t know if this is a credible threat. That’s what the interviews will help us determine,” Parrott said.

The FBI and Transportation Security Administration are taking part in the investigation.

Meanwhile, aircraft have been landing but Parrott said no passengers have been allowed to board any aircraft.

“We are having passengers go to north terminal or the rental car area, providing shelter while waiting to resolve this,” Parrott said.

Flight attendant cited over gun at Philadelphia airport

Investigators said a flight attendant forgot to take a gun out of her purse before leaving for work and the gun fired at Philadelphia International Airport as a police officer was trying to remove the bullets.

Philadelphia police Lt. Ray Evers said Transportation Security Administration officers noticed the gun Sunday and alerted police. Evers said a police officer tried to make the weapon safe by removing the bullets, but instead accidentally fired it. No one was hurt.

Investigators say the flight attendant has a valid gun permit. She has been cited for passing the gun through a security checkpoint.

Evers said the discharge is being investigated by Internal Affairs and the officer who accidentally discharged the gun will go back to training on handling weapons.

Click for more from MyFoxPhilly.com

Report: TSA officers say Boston airport program to flag terrorists encourages racial profiling

A newspaper says Transportation Security Administration officers at Boston’s Logan International Airport are alleging that a program intended to help flag possible terrorists based on passengers’ mannerisms has led to racial profiling.

The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/P2enzf ) reports that in interviews and internal complaints it has obtained, more than 30 officers involved in the “behavior detection” program at Logan say the operation not only targets Middle Easterners, but also passengers who fit certain profiles — such as Hispanics traveling to Miami, or blacks wearing baseball caps backward.

The program is intended to allow officers to stop, search and question passengers for behavior considered suspicious.

The TSA tells the newspaper that it’s investigating the allegations and says if the claims are true, it will take “immediate and decisive action.”