A box cutter was found by a passenger on United flight 490 from Denver to Dallas Tuesday, causing a delay of almost two hours while the passengers were rescreened. From the AP:

Flight 490 had left the gate and was taxiing toward a runway when the passenger found the cutting instrument and notified a flight attendant, United Airlines spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said.

The flight attendant notified authorities, and Transportation Security Administration officials met the plane on the tarmac. McCarthy said all the passengers were taken off the plane and re-screened while officials checked the plane for additional weapons.

None were found and the plane took off at 2:25 p.m., nearly two hours after its scheduled 12:30 p.m. takeoff.

A TSA spokesperson told a local Denver TV station, “That’s why we have armed pilots and federal air marshals so that if prohibited items do get on board, there are other layers of security.” Do you really think someone could hijack a plane with a box cutter now? They’d be dead before they could say, “I’m just trying to open this bag of pretzels.” Chuck Norris would surely teleport in to save the day. Anyway, good job TSA. —MEGHANN MARCO

Box cutter onboard Dallas-bound plane delays flight [USAToday]
(Photo:Stephen Wiltherden)

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