Small Knives Get Through Screening, Onto Plane At Newark

Yesterday, a Las Vegas-bound flight from Newark Airport was delayed after knives were found in the carry-on luggage of one passenger. According to the AP, the Transportation Security Administration explained that a "passenger looking through her overhead luggage had a small Swiss Army knife and another knife with a 2 1/2 inch blade." It's unclear who alerted the crew, but the Continental plane was returned to the gate and cleared of passengers for a check. Oh, and "The TSA is investigating how the knives made it through security."

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By Jen Chung in News on April 22, 2009 11:49 AM

Comments [rss]

ANGRYGOD11

You can have all the weapons you want onboard by bribing the ground crew. They are not making a fortune. If you think everyone who has access to the plane is being checked, then go on with your illusions.

graybanks

Who fucking cares.

On a flight out of Chile, they confiscated any illicit fruit, but still let me go past with a small corkscrew, a swiss army knife and a couple of lighters. The last one I forgot I even had on me. My liquid containers were over 100ml too! TERRORISM!

So fucking stupid.

Rocknrope

Everyone realizes it's hit or miss with items like this. I got nailed with a swiss army knife that I forgot was in my bag, and TSA caught it and made me put it in checked luggage.

nicemarmot

FTW: Two years ago I made it through JFK security with some very illegal 420-related materials in my PURSE. Needless to say I had completely forgotten they were there and nearly had a heart attack when I discovered them after arriving at my destination. It's made even funnier by the fact that when I was in college I almost always got drug-wanded at security. There is also no possible way that those materials could have been mistaken for anything but what they were on the scanner. The person working the machine must have been looking someplace else when my purse went through! Now that makes me feel soooooo safe!

valeriob

Newark airport doesn't even look at the screen!

I've gotten so many things I knew I wasn't supposed to have.

I hate checking bags (losing my baggage) so I always stuff my crap overhead.

hotstepper

that's because most of them are hoodlums who are too busy playing grab-ass and hitting on all the TSA honeys.

Politburo

The original story I read on this said she self-reported the violation. Of course this means that no one will self-report in the future (or will at least wait until their at the destination to do so).

Spirit of 76

It makes no sense to report yourself. If you're going to hijack the plane, it's a little too late to stop you once you have the weapons on-board. If you're not going to hijack the plane, reporting yourself just means grief and inconvenience for yourself and everybody else on the plane. Obama should do something about overhauling this ridiculous system and abolishing security theater. This isn't Dubya's eternally Condition Yellow "stay scared, they're coming for you" America anymore.

SP

I got through security at jfk last week without doing the liquids bs and with my whole toiletries kit (razor, scissors, etc) in my suitcase. I got to the airport too late to check my bags so had to carry them on. Also in my rush I forgot to take my keys out of my pocket, which also went undetected. Despite the stress of being late, this was the most pleasant Security Theatre experience I've ever had. I recommend showing up 5 minutes before check-in closes, I think I will from now on.

jt10000

Returning the plance to the gate for a re-check: what a fine use of time and money.

smitty

I had some promotional bic lighters in my bag from work and forgot about them and then realized when I got home that I had made it there and back through airport screening with them in my bag. Safety first!

hotstepper

big deal, i'd love to see someone try to hijack a plane with a 2 1/2" blade. it's almost like trying a hijack with the nail-clippers they always make me throw away...sheesh, can't a brother have trim nails on vaca?

Geoelh

Airport security is nothing but window-dressing. Put your shampoo in a tiny bottle in a ziploc bag; leave your nail clippers at home; take off your shoes, your belt, your pants, your socks, stand naked over here while we get our rubber gloves on... And still people get knives through, and you hear about law enforcement "testing" the system by getting gun or bomb parts through security about once a year. It's all a joke, and the principal effect of this smokescreen is to increase aggravation of travelers to the point that outbursts and assaults are all the more likely. That, and to waste huge amounts of money, of course, what would a government program be without vast quantities of waste?