TSA guard faces discipline, not firing, for NJ airport breach that snarled flights worldwide
By APFriday, March 12, 2010
Guard to be disciplined for Newark airport breach
NEWARK, N.J. — Officials will discipline, but won’t fire, a New Jersey airport guard who briefly left his post, triggering a security breach that delayed flights worldwide.
The Transportation Security Administration would not name the guard or say what would happen to him. However, the TSA says he will return to work.
The Newark Liberty International Airport guard was placed on paid administrative leave two days after a Rutgers University graduate student took advantage of the guard’s absence to enter the terminal and say goodbye to his girlfriend.
The Jan. 3 breach closed a terminal for six hours, causing flight delays that rippled around the world. The student pleaded guilty to defiant trespass.
The guard’s leave ends on Saturday.
