by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:17 AM ET, Mon January 14, 2019
Update: January 15, 2019 at 12:30 p.m. ET
The Transportation Security Administration has fired two officers after it was discovered that a man made it through a security checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and onto his flight to Japan with a gun in his bag, according to NBC News.
TSA officials said the security breach was caused by procedures not being followed, which resulted in the firings. A spokesperson said the incident had nothing to do with TSA agents calling out due to the partial federal government shutdown.
An airline passenger traveling through an Atlanta airport managed to get a gun past security and onto a flight to Japan earlier this month.
According to CBSNews.com, an unidentified passenger flying with Delta Air Lines informed workers when the plane landed on January 2 at Tokyo Narita International Airport that he accidentally had left a gun in his bag.
The male passenger did not know the gun was in his bag when he made his way through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Security officers working the checkpoint in Atlanta did not find the gun during the screening process, allowing the man to board Delta flight DL295 to Tokyo with the weapon.
When the plane landed in Japan and airline officials were notified, they called on TSA agents in Japan to assist with the situation. It was unclear if the passenger had been arrested for the incident.
"TSA has determined standard procedures were not followed and a passenger did in fact pass through a standard screening TSA checkpoint with a firearm at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on January 2," a TSA spokesperson told CBS News. "TSA will hold those responsible appropriately accountable."
Officials believe the partial federal government shutdown and the subsequent callouts by TSA agents are not related to the incident. In total, security screeners spotted more than 4,000 firearms in carry-on bags in 2018, including nearly 300 at Hartsfield-Jackson.
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