Acting Administrator Reassigned After Investigation Revealed

The TSA Office of Inspector General is preparing a report that indicates widespread failures in the security apparatus at U.S. Airports.

For the tests, TSA employees known as "Red Teams" posed as passengers and attempted to carry simulated weapons through security checkpoints. Information obtained by ABC News indicates that they were successful 95 percent of the time, according to a published report.

In one instance, an agent operating undercover was stopped after a magnetometer detected a simulated explosive taped to his back, but the TSO conducting the pat-down search did not find the device.

The Department of Homeland Security said through a written statement to ABC News that after he learned of the initial findings from the OIG, "Secretary Johnson immediately directed TSA to implement a series of actions, several of which are now in place, to address the issues raised in the report.”

"We take these findings very seriously," Secretary Johnson said in a separate statement. "The numbers in these reports never look good out of context, but they are a critical element in the continual evolution of our aviation security."

DHS officials still say that airport security is strong and reliable, and that there are multiple layers of security, many of which cannot be seen. But officials who spoke to ABC News said that the results of the OIG investigation were "disappointing."

Fox News reports that TSA Acting Administrator Melvin Carraway has been reassigned in the wake of the pending report. He has been sent to the Office of State and Local Law Enforcement. Acting Deputy Director Mark Hatfield will assume the duties of administrator pending U.S. Senate confirmation of Coast Guard Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger to be the permanent administrator. The agency has been without a permanent administrator since John Pistole left the post at the end of last year.

(Image via ABC News Facebook Page)

FMI: www.tsa.gov