NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A woman bypassed the TSA security checkpoint at Nashville International Airport last week and boarded a flight to Los Angeles, all without a boarding pass.
Officials said the woman, who had not yet been charged as of Thursday, jumped over one of the security posts at Nashville International Airport (BNA) and entered TSA security without presenting a boarding pass or identification. It is said that the first layer of the tunnel was bypassed.
Mark Howell, regional spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, said the woman slipped into the security line after evading the initial checkpoint.
She then took her luggage through the security checkpoint. She also went through the security scanner.
TSA officials said there was nothing illegal or suspicious in her belongings or bag, and she continued to leave the security checkpoint without incident.
Once inside, the woman was able to board a flight to Los Angeles, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Los Angeles field office confirmed.
“Honestly, this is pretty surprising,” said Oksana Willower, a traveler from Florida, who said she felt someone at TSA “obviously failed their job.”
“You have to show ID, you have to show a ticket, you have to be able to get in. So how was she able to get out of the line?” Willower asked.
In a statement shared with Nexstar's WKRN, a TSA spokesperson said the agency is cooperating with the investigation.
“TSA is reviewing the circumstances of this incident, but the traveler in question went through the security checkpoint at Nashville International Airport without incident on February 7th before boarding the plane, and was able to undergo a physical search and carry-on baggage.'' We can confirm that he has been tested,” the statement said. It is written in part: “TSA and its airline partners are cooperating with law enforcement in the ongoing investigation.”
The TSA also said in a statement that airlines are responsible for barring unticketed travelers from participating in flights.
A TSA spokesperson said, “The boarding process at the terminal gate, beyond the TSA security checkpoint and into the aircraft, is monitored by the airline.”
An FBI spokesperson confirmed the woman was detained and being questioned and said the investigation was ongoing.
