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Bodycam footage showed Atlanta officials apprehending a passenger in possession of a box cutter inside a Frontier Airlines flight after the plane heading to Tampa, Florida, was diverted to Georgia.
On Friday, November 11, 2022, an unidentified passenger on board the Frontier aircraft was taken into custody by Atlanta law enforcement after the suspect was found with a box cutter, Frontier Airlines said in a statement.
A video captured the arrest of a passenger who allegedly threatened to stab other passengers onboard the aircraft. The violent remarks were allegedly made to another passenger, who alerted the flight attendants about the potential threat posed by the suspect.
Shortly after, the suspect was taken into custody, and authorities reportedly found a second box cutter in his carry-on. Officials added that no injuries were reported at the scene.
Tampa flight was diverted to Georgia after flight attendants were alerted about a potential threat
The Frontier Airlines flight that departed from Cincinnati to Tampa was diverted to Georgia after flight attendants were alerted by passenger Lillian Hoffman that the suspect had a knife and was "threatening to stab people."
In a statement to WLWT-News, Hoffman said:
"When he went to go to the bathroom, the passenger in the window seat looked at me and said, "Hey he has a knife and he told me he was threatening to stab people, we need to say something to somebody."
She added:
"So I went up and talked to the flight attendants in the front of the airplane and let them know that this guy has a box knife and he’s been telling us he wants to stab people."
After arresting the suspect, the TSA said that a second box cutter was discovered inside the suspect's carry-on bag after the first one caused a Tampa flight to be diverted to Georgia.
The suspect was screened and cleared by security personnel before entering the aircraft
Following the incident, the flight to Tampa on Friday, November 11, was canceled after the airline deplaned all other passengers in Georgia. However, passengers who had overnight hotel accommodation in Atlanta, Georgia, were flown to Tampa the next day.
According to 11Alive, the suspect, who was carrying two backpacks, was screened at a security screening and subsequently cleared by security personnel despite finding a box cutter on his belongings. However, the TSA operator, who found the box cutter while rifling the suspect's backpack, removed the visible blades and handed the boxcutter over to the passenger, which was against the procedure.
The TSA said the operator did not find a second box cutter on the suspect's belongings. They added that the oversight was being investigated and that TSA employees were placed in a training course to better understand and implement the security protocol.
