Box cutter found on flight to Vegas prompts inquiry

Jace Radke

Thursday, Jan. 15, 2004 | 11:20 a.m.

The FBI and the Transportation Security Administration are investigating the discovery of a box cutter on an America West Airlines flight from Detroit to Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The small razor-equipped device was found in a seatback pocket by a passenger while the plane was in the air, TSA spokeswoman Jennifer Marty said.

"She pulled out a magazine, and the box cutter came out with it," Marty said. "TSA and FBI agents met the plane as it landed at McCarran International Airport. The plane was searched and the flight crew was interviewed."

FBI agents conducted interviews after the flight, America West 232, landed Wednesday morning, but there were no leads as to how the box cutter got onto the plane, special agent Todd Palmer said.

"The plane was put back in service and was sent on to its next destination," Palmer said.

Box cutters, which were used as weapons by some of the terrorist hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001, are among the items banned from aircraft. Other banned household items include pointed or sharp scissors, baseball bats, golf clubs and screwdrivers.

Palmer and Marty said banned items do sometimes make it onto flights, although it is rare.

"The screening that we do is not always foolproof, and that's why we have additional security precautions such as reinforced cockpit doors and air marshals," Marty said.

A spokeswoman for Tempe, Ariz.-based America West Airlines said Wednesday that the company is assisting police agencies in all aspects of the investigation.

Janice Monahan would not comment specifically about how the company is cooperating or whether the airline would be giving information about the names of passengers on previous flights sitting in seats around where the box cutter was discovered.

She said the airline -- the second-busiest commercial passenger carrier serving McCarran, with about 500,000 passengers a month -- is evaluating whether it needs to modify any of its own screening procedures.

Monahan said the company is not making any changes at present in its boarding policies as a result of the incident and that she expects no additional delays in accommodating passengers.

America West and its America West Express affiliate operate nearly 100 flights between Las Vegas and 41 nonstop destinations daily, including one round-trip a day to and from Detroit.

Some items that were originally banned from carry-on luggage immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks are now again allowed to be brought on board a plane. These items include nail files, corkscrews, knitting needles, nail clippers, disposable razors, and scissors with plastic or blunt tips.