Security error snarls D/FW travel
Posted on 01/10/2003 1:42:36 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Security error snarls D/FW travel
Search for explosives empties terminals, delays thousands
01/10/2003
A screener at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport caused an evacuation of three terminals Thursday when she improperly gave a passenger back a bag that had tested positive for explosives, according to the federal agency in charge of security.
Thousands of passengers and at least 200 flights were delayed as terminals A, B and C were evacuated and searched to ensure that no threat existed.
Transportation Security Administration screeners stopped the passenger about 2 p.m. as he made his way through the security checkpoint near Gate A35. Something appeared on the X-ray machine that was screening his carry-on bag, prompting a closer look. A security screener then tested the luggage for explosives by swabbing a chemical along the side of the bag.
| Also Online | |||||||
|
As she turned toward a machine that displays the test results, the man walked away.
"The screener took the bag, did the swabbing and gave the bag back to the passenger, and he left," said Jimmie Wooten, the TSA's federal security director for D/FW Airport. "Then she saw that there was an alarm on the detection machine.
"There's no indication that ... [the passenger] should have known something was up," Mr. Wooten said.
A search of the terminals failed to find the man, and TSA officials said they doubted he would be found.
LAWRENCE JENKINS / DMN Travelers waited to enter a D/FW Airport checkpoint Thursday after a security mistake. |
"We're certainly going to go over the procedures here," Mr. Wooten said. "Certainly, that's not an appropriate process for the screener, and we will address that."
The name and work history of the screener were not released.
The X-ray machine allows a visual inspection of the bag's contents. If an object can't be identified, screeners are supposed to inspect the bag more closely, either through a hand search or chemical testing. A piece of luggage can test positive for explosives even if there is no gun or explosives in the luggage, said Ed Martelle, a TSA spokesman.
"At some point, he could have been in contact with a gun or an ingredient in explosives," Mr. Martelle said. "His bag could have rubbed somebody's bag that had something on it."
Among the substances that could test positive is fertilizer, which can be used to make a bomb.
TSA officials have pulled the videotape from a nearby camera to see whether it recorded the incident.
The mistake forced thousands of passengers out of the terminals. Initial reports suggested that the man, dressed in a business suit, had caused the evacuation by bolting from the security checkpoint area during a bag search.
IRWIN THOMPSON / DMN Vern Castle of Colorado Springs, Colo., waits to get back in. |
Brenda Boeve of Sioux Falls, S.D., was about to board a San Antonio flight when passengers were told to leave the terminals.
"There was no one around to explain anything. I finally found a security guard who told me I had to wait," said Ms. Boeve, who was in Dallas for a business meeting.
Jennifer Griffin, 28, and her two daughters were about to take off on an American Airlines flight to Germany when the evacuation was called, and they had to leave the plane.
"This is a little bit frustrating because I just want to get home, but it's OK," she said as her hungry 5-year-old pulled at her clothing. "I'm just glad we don't have to get a hotel."
Planes arriving at D/FW Airport were not allowed near the terminals until they were secured.
"It's one plane after another, just parked," said state Rep. Steve Wolens, D-Dallas, whose plane had arrived from El Paso. Mr. Wolens, husband of Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, waited along with passengers aboard dozens of planes parked on the D/FW Airport runways.
ALLISON V. SMITH / DMN Jim Lumley (left) of Maryland and Virgil Hammond of Wisconsin waited outside terminal B on Thursday. Travelers were allowed back after about 2 1/2 hours, and everyone had to go through security checkpoints again. |
Passengers were allowed back into the airport after about 2 ½ hours, and everyone had to go through security checkpoints again.
As a precaution, officials said, at least 26 airports were expected to rescreen D/FW Airport passengers when they arrived at their destinations.
The TSA has no authority to arrest passengers violating security measures. That is the responsibility of the airport's public safety department, TSA officials said. If the passenger is found, he would be charged with a felony only if explosives were found in his luggage, airport officials said.
Staff writer Tiara M. Ellis contributed to this report.
E-mail tlangford@dallasnews.com
Hey, check this out too, lol !
| Caption this picture: Security error at D/FW Airport... |
Yes, but that is a small price to pay for our increased safety and security. </sarcasm>
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
