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Sunday, July 11, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 a.m.
 
The Times collected 100 media reports of airport-security breaches since fall 2002, when TSA screeners took over. Screeners say that's a fraction of the incidents, and most are never disclosed.  View breaches by state:
Map of the United States: Click on a green state to read about breaches that occurred there Hawaii Washington Oregon California Nevada Arizona Colorado New Mexico Texas Arkansas Missouri Illinois Michigan Florida South Carolina North Carolina Virginia West Virginia Pennsylvania New York Massachusetts Connecticut Rhode Island New Jersey Maryland Indiana Kentucky Alabama Georgia New Hampshire Maine Utah Ohio
Pennsylvania
Airport Breach description
Harrisburg Int'l Airport, Middletown A United Airlines employee bypassed a security checkpoint with a carry-on bag. The concourse was cleared, and all passengers in the secure area had to be rescreened. One flight was delayed for 40 minutes. [1/12/2003]
Source: Airport Security Report
Philadelphia Int'l Airport A screener was found with a loaded Glock 9-mm pistol at a walk-through metal detector before starting his work shift. TSA requires screeners at terminal checkpoints to undergo the same security procedures as passengers. The screener told authorities he forgot he had the gun with him. He said he had been at a shooting range the night before and packed the pistol in the same bag he brought to work. Three screeners were suspended over the incident -- the two others because they did not notify their supervisors about it. Authorities said they simply told the screener to get the gun out of the airport and return to work. [1/24/2004]
Source: Airport Security Report
Philadelphia Int'l Airport A box cutter was found inside a seat pouch on a US Airways flight that had arrived from Houston. A passenger found the box cutter and pointed it out to crew members. About 80 passengers disembarked and passed through the airport's security checkpoint before boarding another flight. [10/28/2003]
Source: Airport Security Report
Philadelphia Int'l Airport A man triggered an alarm on a walk-through metal detector around 6:30 p.m. at a terminal checkpoint. The man had just arrived from overseas and was connecting to a domestic flight. He was apparently instructed to wait in a roped-off area for secondary screening but he left the terminal. No screeners saw the man leave. Police were notified and arrived within two minutes. By 6:45 p.m., the man could not be found and the TSA decided to evacuate the old and new international terminals. Ten flights were delayed up to an hour and more than 1,800 passengers had to be rescreened. [8/10/2003]
Source: Airport Security Report
Pittsburgh Int'l Airport Three TSA screeners and a checkpoint manager failed to stop a woman from going through a security checkpoint. The woman, a FAA employee who was testing airport security, walked the wrong way through a checkpoint exit and into the building. Robert Blose, federal security director at the airport, said the manager and screeners would be disciplined and the checkpoint reconfigured to stop future breaches. [2/03/2003]
Source: Airport Security Report
Pittsburgh Int'l Airport A man without a boarding pass entered the terminal to say goodbye to his brother by flashing an old constable's badge he was given as a gift. He was arrested and faced a federal charge of lying to a U.S. Customs inspector. [12/08/2002]
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Airport Security Report
Pittsburgh Int'l Airport A flight attendant discovered a young man covered with a blanket in the seventh row of a parked airplane. He did not have proper passenger or airport credentials. The flight attendant immediately notified police, and the man was arrested. He told police he avoided security by ducking behind a closed ticket counter when the area was deserted. He then crawled to the airfield through the baggage system. Video surveillance showed him in a conveyor area. He got to the tarmac and jumped aboard a United Airlines van. Using keys in the ashtray, he drove to a gate and boarded a plane. After he was discovered, the plane was searched for suspicious items before being cleared. The man told police he wanted to go to St. Louis. He was charged with criminal trespass, theft, receiving stolen property and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. [5/24/2003]
Source: Airport Security Report

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