Frontier flight to Tampa diverted after passenger found with box cutter

TSA: Screening failures allowed box cutters on plane

A Frontier Airlines flight from Cincinnati to Tampa was diverted to Atlanta on Friday after a passenger was discovered to have a box cutter on the plane, officials said.

The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. on Friday when Frontier flight 1761 from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, bound for Tampa International Airport, diverted to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a disturbance began with a disruptive passenger.

Passengers were deplaned in Atlanta, and the FBI and Atlanta police responded to the incident by taking the suspect into custody.

No one was injured, and the flight was canceled. Officials said there were 192 passengers on board, and several military veterans helped restrain the man until landing.

A second box cutter was discovered in the passenger's carry-on luggage, according to Mancha. Box cutters are prohibited in the cabin, per TSA's website.

The passenger's belongings, which included two backpacks and some loose items, were put through a CT scanner, TSA said in a later statement. After reviewing CCTV footage of the incident, officials found employees did not fully use the image review capabilities of the scanner, the TSA said. 

In addition, after one box cutter was found during a further search of his belongings, the visible blades were removed and the cutter was given back to the passenger — contrary to TSA's normal procedures, which would require the item to be put into an already checked bag or voluntarily abandoned.

The agency added that agents screened the backpack containing the other box cutter for explosives, but did not find the box cutter.

TSA said the employees involved in the incident are being retrained on CT image review and physical search procedures, along with shift briefs on the handling of box cutters and other prohibited items found during searches. There will also be statewide training on CT image scanning by TSA.

Incidents involving disruptive passengers are down 80% in 2022 after soaring during the pandemic, but, so far, there have been nearly 2,200 this year alone.

The incident is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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