Charlotte airport shut down in screener mishap

DeltaFlot · 12-18-2001, 07:06 PM

December 18, 2001 Posted: 5:51 PM EST (2251 GMT)

Officials rescreened passengers in case they had passed through an inoperative screening device.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (CNN) -- Charlotte-Douglas International Airport was shut down Tuesday following the discovery of an unplugged screening device.

Officials decided to evacuate everyone in the airport gate areas and have them rescreened in case they had passed through the inoperative magnetometer.

Outgoing airplanes taxiing at the time of the incident returned to the gates. Passengers were unloaded for rescreening.

Passengers aboard flights that had already taken off were rechecked at their destinations, said FAA spokesman Chris White.

Some incoming flights were initially diverted to nearby airports.

International Total Services, a private contractor based in Cleveland, Ohio, was running the screening area where the magnetometer was situated, according to US Airways spokesman Rick Weintraub.

The incident took place around 11 a.m. and was expected to affect flights throughout the day, said airport spokeswoman Stacy Bryant.

It was not clear exactly how many flights were immediately affected. Charlotte-Douglas aviation director Jerry Orr said about 40 flights remained on the ground nearly three hours after the incident.

"It's a mess," Orr said. "As of 1 o'clock, we're back open and still screening passengers to be reboarded."

He said nearly 6,000 people had to be rescreened and many were still waiting in line to pass through the checkpoints.

"It just happened at a bad time," Orr said, noting there were more passengers than usual at the airport because of the holiday season.

"It's a huge mistake. We don't believe [the magnetometer] was unplugged more than five minutes, but we're not sure we'll ever be able to determine that. It cost the airlines and the airport a lot of money."

About 500 flights depart each day from the airport, where US Airways has a hub.

OK! ENOUGH ALREADY! Will our friends who work for the airlines make sure the security screeners know how to operate their equipment. I am sick and tired of hearing this story.

Tjames · 12-18-2001, 07:33 PM

I would have thought the airlines/airports would have devised a method to ensure these machines dont get unplugged by now.... makes you wander whats really going on here.. Its funny how some airlines are screaming how close there are to going under, yet they dont seem to care too much about the quality of the companies they hire as long as they meet the minimum requirements set forth by the FAA, (and there is even some debate weather or not they care about that.. see the year to year increase in fines to the airlines increase according to CNN at http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/tra...ine.fines.html )

lnusb · 12-18-2001, 09:51 PM

Russ,

I could not agree more. God nows those flashing lights on top and a good 1-2 minutes of someone not getting beeped during the screening should be a good hint that the machine is either not working or unplugged.

At this point, I think the topside of the aircraft are about as safe as we can hope. Until we screen all luggage and positive ID Bags/People together on flights, there is a huge hole in the system waiting for another disaster to happen.

elsarno2 · 12-19-2001, 12:57 AM

Machines are only as dumb as there operators. Maybe we need to raise the standards a little higher.

hernan · 12-19-2001, 09:57 AM

ptolbert · 12-19-2001, 07:10 PM

you should at;least have to havea HS education to screen people.
Sheesh.

me737 · 12-22-2001, 11:33 PM

you should at;least have to havea HS education to screen people.

no, you mean an elementary education

GET SOME BRAINS

12-18-2001, 07:06 PM	#1
DeltaFlot The Patriot Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Laurel, MD Age: 36 Posts: 3,228	Charlotte airport shut down in screener mishap December 18, 2001 Posted: 5:51 PM EST (2251 GMT) Officials rescreened passengers in case they had passed through an inoperative screening device. CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (CNN) -- Charlotte-Douglas International Airport was shut down Tuesday following the discovery of an unplugged screening device. Officials decided to evacuate everyone in the airport gate areas and have them rescreened in case they had passed through the inoperative magnetometer. Outgoing airplanes taxiing at the time of the incident returned to the gates. Passengers were unloaded for rescreening. Passengers aboard flights that had already taken off were rechecked at their destinations, said FAA spokesman Chris White. Some incoming flights were initially diverted to nearby airports. International Total Services, a private contractor based in Cleveland, Ohio, was running the screening area where the magnetometer was situated, according to US Airways spokesman Rick Weintraub. The incident took place around 11 a.m. and was expected to affect flights throughout the day, said airport spokeswoman Stacy Bryant. It was not clear exactly how many flights were immediately affected. Charlotte-Douglas aviation director Jerry Orr said about 40 flights remained on the ground nearly three hours after the incident. "It's a mess," Orr said. "As of 1 o'clock, we're back open and still screening passengers to be reboarded." He said nearly 6,000 people had to be rescreened and many were still waiting in line to pass through the checkpoints. "It just happened at a bad time," Orr said, noting there were more passengers than usual at the airport because of the holiday season. "It's a huge mistake. We don't believe [the magnetometer] was unplugged more than five minutes, but we're not sure we'll ever be able to determine that. It cost the airlines and the airport a lot of money." About 500 flights depart each day from the airport, where US Airways has a hub. OK! ENOUGH ALREADY! Will our friends who work for the airlines make sure the security screeners know how to operate their equipment. I am sick and tired of hearing this story. __________________ Febuary 15, 1898 December 7, 1941 June 8, 1967 September 11, 2001 Never Forget, Never Forgive If you kick the Tiger in the arse, you better be able to deal with the Tiger's teeth.

12-18-2001, 09:51 PM	#3
lnusb Collector Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Atlanta, GA USA Age: 42 Posts: 110	Russ, I could not agree more. God nows those flashing lights on top and a good 1-2 minutes of someone not getting beeped during the screening should be a good hint that the machine is either not working or unplugged. At this point, I think the topside of the aircraft are about as safe as we can hope. Until we screen all luggage and positive ID Bags/People together on flights, there is a huge hole in the system waiting for another disaster to happen. __________________ Lee

12-19-2001, 09:57 AM	#5
hernan Senior Collector Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: CAROLINA,PUERTO RICO Age: 42 Posts: 426	Duh! __________________ FLY SOUTHWEST. THE ONLY WAY TO FLY ! COLLECT STAR JETS. THE BEST MODELS!

12-19-2001, 07:10 PM	#6
ptolbert Insane Collector Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Waco/Woodway, Tx Age: 22 Posts: 1,205	you should at;least have to havea HS education to screen people. Sheesh. __________________ Ptolbert Long Live N615DL!!!!! ------------------------------ One World United together fighting poverty, social injustice, and foreign Domination of Industries, and just plain dumb people.

12-22-2001, 11:33 PM	#7
me737 Insane Collector Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Albuquerque New Mexico, Green Chili Cheeseburger capitol of the world! Posts: 1,002	you should at;least have to havea HS education to screen people. no, you mean an elementary education GET SOME BRAINS __________________ Instant message me if you want. If you don't then okay, it doesn't hurt me. AOL& MSN handle Jetsetter737. I want more planes. No, more than that. I still want more.

12-18-2001, 07:33 PM	#2
Tjames Collector Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 80	I would have thought the airlines/airports would have devised a method to ensure these machines dont get unplugged by now.... makes you wander whats really going on here.. Its funny how some airlines are screaming how close there are to going under, yet they dont seem to care too much about the quality of the companies they hire as long as they meet the minimum requirements set forth by the FAA, (and there is even some debate weather or not they care about that.. see the year to year increase in fines to the airlines increase according to CNN at http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/tra...ine.fines.html )

12-19-2001, 12:57 AM	#4
elsarno2 Junior Collector Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Hampton, VA Age: 35 Posts: 39	Machines are only as dumb as there operators. Maybe we need to raise the standards a little higher.

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