This Time, There's No Email Explanation

When college student Nat Heatwole left box cutters, Play-doh, and bleach aboard a couple Southwest Airways 737s last Summer, he sent an email to the TSA, explaining that he had done so. The TSA seemingly ignored his note, which surfaced after SWA employees found the contraband. Then, the TSA and FBI said they knew all along, without offering any reason why the illegal cargo was left aboard the flights for five weeks...

Now, there's another scare, this time on US Airways planes. The FBI and TSA are really puzzled this time, though, because the perp apparently hasn't told them about his (or her) acts. These crimes may never be solved...

At any rate, on Tuesday, a US Airways Express flight crew in Boston found a box cutter. The plane had arrived without passengers from Rockland (ME). After the knife was turned over to security, the flight was allowed to leave for its next rendezvouz in Syracuse (NY).

Also on Tuesday, a passenger found a box cotter tucked in the seat-back pouch of a Phoenix-bound US Airways flight, a quarter-hour before the plane was to have left for Phoenix. The TSA had the eighty or so PAX get off the plane [no mention was made of what happened to the crew --ed.], and go once again through 'security,' which, once again, didn't find anything bad among them. That plane had arrived from Houston.

There are several possible explanations:

1. the knives were smuggled aboard by PAX, perhaps to demonstrate how well security is working, a la Nathaniel Heatwole
2. the knives were smuggled aboard by terrorists, who forgot to use them
3. the knives were left by airline or airport workers (although that's not really an 'explanation')
4. the knives were smuggled aboard by the TSA's 'Red Teams,' who then left them there on purpose 'to test the cleaning crews'
5. the knives had been aboard the aircraft since before September 11, 2001, when it was OK to bring them aboard

The FBI and TSA are figuring out which story line might be the most likely to succeed, as airline crews and passengers continue to provide the best security of all ...and why not? The certifiably-disarmed crews and PAX have the most to lose.

FMI: www.fbi.gov; www.tsa.gov