Nathaniel Heatwole leaves the United States courthouse in Baltimore. Heatwole was charged with taking a dangerous weapon aboard an aircraft and released without bail. (AP)
Bush Pledges Airline Safety Story aired: Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Today, officials of the Transportation Security Administration are promising to act more aggressively on threats.
Yesterday, a student from Guilford College in North Carolina was charged in court with carrying concealed weapons on an aircraft, after stashing bags of box cutters and bleach aboard four Southwest Airlines flights.
Nathaniel Heatwole says he did it to prove weaknesses in the airline security system, and one glaring weakness is causing consternation. Heatwole emailed the Transportation Security Administration last month, pin pointing the exact location of the box cutters and including his name and address. The agency didn't act on the emails until the bags were found by a maintenance man last week.
