Investigators said employees from the Transportation Security Administration did not follow procedures when a man made it through security checkpoints with box cutters on a flight to Florida.
NBC affiliate WFLA-TV reports the man was taken into custody after becoming "unruly" on the flight from Cincinnati, Ohio to Tampa, causing the flight to be diverted to Atlanta.
The man, who was not identified, had one box cutter on him at the time of his arrest and a second box cutter in his luggage.
TSA said in a statement that when the man put his two backpacks and loose items in a bin for screening, the technology did not detect the cutters. Officials said the machine's image review abilities were not fully used. TSA employees did find one box cutter and took it from the man.
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“The visible blades were removed from the box cutter and provided back to the passenger,” the statement said in part. “This is contrary to standard operating procedure which requires these items to be placed in checked bags or voluntarily abandoned. 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.”
TSA said the employees would be put into a training status for remediation of procedures.
