Video shows security breach that disrupted Newark airport
A man told by security to step outside a roped area returns after the guard steps away.
NEWARK, N.J. - Call it the airport embrace felt around the world.
A man took advantage of a guard's absence to sneak past a Newark Liberty International Airport checkpoint Sunday and walk into a secure area with his arm around a woman, causing a six-hour terminal shutdown that delayed flights across the globe and called into question how secure the nation's airports are.
The couple's actions emerged in a surveillance video released yesterday by the office of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), who had pushed the Transportation Security Administration to release the footage.
In the video, the man stations himself near an exit lane where departing passengers pass a guard to leave the terminal. The officer appears to walk over and tell the man to step outside a rope barrier.
A minute or so later, after the guard leaves his station for several seconds, the woman approaches the exit from inside the terminal and motions to the man, who ducks under the rope to join her. The two then walk into the passenger-only area with their arms wrapped around each other.
While the guard was away from his post, dozens of passengers walked out through the exit lane, further obscuring the couple. Someone waiting for an arriving passenger notified the guard.
The officer has been placed on administrative leave while the TSA investigates.
The video "clearly shows that a TSA officer's actions led to the Sunday incident," the TSA said in a statement yesterday. "We will use this hard lesson to reinforce the sharp focus and tight discipline at all our stations across the country and ensure we maintain the public trust."
During a news conference at the airport Wednesday, Lautenberg, Sen. Robert Menendez (D., N.J.), and Rep. Donald Payne (D., N.J.) criticized the TSA for the guard's actions and the disclosure that the security camera at the checkpoint was streaming live video but not recording at the time of the breach.
That forced TSA officials to seek footage from security cameras operated by Continental Airlines, which delayed the notification of law enforcement personnel on site for about an hour.
Another surveillance camera showed the man leaving by a separate exit about 20 minutes after he entered. He has not been identified, but TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said he would face criminal charges if found.
Lautenberg wasn't immediately available for comment on the video yesterday, but said in a statement that "the release of this video will give law enforcement another tool to help find the person who breached the security gate at Newark Liberty Airport. I encourage this individual or anyone with knowledge of his identity to immediately contact law enforcement."