Airport officials said today that a man who bypassed security screening likely managed to make it on a flight and leave Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. The Transportation Security Administration noticed shortly before 8 a.m. that the man had slipped past screeners sometime earlier that morning. Officials searched about 15 planes on the ground and shut down Concourse C, said agency spokesman Jon Allen.
Allen said 12 other flights left the airport prior to the search, and officials now believe the man is on one of those flights. Those planes will be reverse-screened when they land, he said.
TSA spokesman Chris White said the planes were headed for La Guardia in New York; Baltimore; Windsor Locks, Conn.; Dallas-Fort Worth; Jacksonville, Fla.; Memphis, Tenn.; Indianapolis; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Los Angeles; Boston; San Diego; Philadelphia; St. Louis; and Washington.
White said the flight to Baltimore already landed without incident, and TSA officials did not find the man on board. "We're investigating what happened and it's too soon to say whether there was malicious intent or whether it was someone who was confused and passed the security screening," Allen said.
The Federal Aviation Administration shut down all outbound flights from Charlotte for about an hour beginning shortly after 8 a.m., said Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the agency in Atlanta. Some planes were held on the tarmac but later cleared to leave, while others were directed to return to the gate, she said.
The airport experienced delays of up to an hour, but Bergen said there were no longer any widespread back-ups at the airport. |