A passenger security checkpoint in Terminal B at Sacramento International Airport was closed for less than an hour this morning when five people passed through the checkpoint while it was unstaffed.
According to a federal Transportation Security Administration official, who wished to remain anonymous, a miscommunication resulted in a walk-through metal detector being left unattended for less than a minute. An immediate review of video film confirmed that five individuals went through the machine without setting off its alarm, "so they did, in fact, complete the screening process before entering" the concourse leading to the boarding areas, the official said. The film allowed TSA officers to identify the five persons and conduct a successful search for them.
TSA management in Sacramento is "looking into how this happened," and two of the agency's officers "have been removed from screening duties until the review is complete and they ... undergo remedial training," the official said.
TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said the five individuals - four ticketed passengers and an airport vendor - were rounded up and rescreened as a precaution.
The checkpoint was closed from approximately 9 a.m. to 9:56 a.m., Davis said.
In addition to TSA officers, Sacramento County sheriff's deputies and airport operations officers responded to a security alert and assisted in the search for the five persons, according to airport spokeswoman Laurie Slothower.
According to the airport website, 12 flights were delayed for varying periods of time while the checkpoint was closed.
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