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Federal Authorities Still Searching For 8 Passengers Who Breached Security At JFK
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Feb 21, 2017
Modified Feb 21, 2017
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Feb 21, 2017
Modified Feb 21, 2017
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Federal authorities are still looking for eight of the 11 passengers who breezed through a TSA security line at JFK without getting fully screened yesterday.
At around 6 a.m. yesterday, 11 passengers at JFK's Terminal 5 walked through an unmanned security line without submitting to a check—at least three of them set off the metal detector, according to surveillance video. Port Authority spokesperson Joseph Pentangelo told Gothamist in a statement yesterday that the TSA did not alert Port Authority police about the breach until 8 a.m., and though officers attempted to locate the passengers, it is believed they all boarded flights.
"The TSA tried to mitigate the situation by sending their screeners through the terminal in violation of all the protocols,” an unnamed source told the Daily News. “The protocol says law enforcement is immediately notified.”
Police were able to identify three passengers using surveillance video, according to Pentangelo. All three boarded a flight to California and were screened when they landed.
The TSA told Gothamist in a statement that the incident did not pose a safety risk:
The Transportation Security Administration is reviewing reports of a possible security incident this morning at John F Kennedy International Airport Terminal 5. Early reports indicate 3 passengers did not receive required secondary screening after alarming the walk through metal detector. All personal carry-on bags received required screening. A K9 team was present at the checkpoint at the time of the incident. TSA conducted security measures at the passengers' arrival airport. TSA works with a network of security layers both seen and unseen. We are confident this incident presents minimal risk to the aviation transportation system.
The administration says they will take "appropriate action" once they've reviewed the breach.
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