A Frontier Airlines flight to Tampa changed course Friday night after an unruly passenger was discovered with a box cutter, officials say.
After the suspect was taken into custody and searched, a second cutter was found in his carry-on, according to the agency. Blades are prohibited in the cabin but permitted in checked baggage.
According to the Transportation Security Administration, employees who screened the traveler’s items before the flight did not follow protocol, the agency said.
Frontier Flight 1761 took off from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport around 7:20 p.m. Friday and was en route to Tampa when the crew declared an emergency.
The plane was then “diverted to Atlanta after a passenger on the plane was observed in possession of a box cutter,” according to a statement from the airline shared with NBC News.
“No passengers or crew members were injured,” Frontier spokeswoman Jennifer F. de la Cruz said. A new flight was scheduled for Saturday morning to take passengers from Atlanta to Tampa.
The plane landed in Atlanta around 8:45 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Frontier Airlines did not provide any additional information about the incident, but according to the Transportation Security Administration, there was a disturbance involving the passenger in possession of the cutter.
“The cockpit was secure and the passengers were disembarked in ATL,” the TSA said in a statement. “The FBI and the Atlanta Police Department responded to the incident, arrested the suspect, and the robbery was called off.”
Prior to the robbery, the suspect presented two backpacks and “additional loose items” which were examined using “CT technology which creates a 3D image that can be rotated 360 degrees for in-depth analysis”. The employee examining the suspect’s items did not use the full capabilities of the technology.
“The box cutters have not been identified by the CT operator, but its property has been identified for further investigation,” the TSA said in a statement Sunday. “During the search, a box cutter was discovered.”
The cutter’s visible blades were removed and it was returned to the passenger, which “is contrary to standard operating procedure which requires these items to be placed in checked or intentionally abandoned baggage”.
“The backpack containing the other cutter, and the rest of the traveler’s belongings, was checked for explosives, but the cutter was not discovered,” the agency said.
It is not yet known what charges the suspect faces.
The incident is currently under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office, FBI and FAA.
Kurt Chirbas and Jay Blackman contributed.
