Access Control
& Security Systems

The Associated Press has reported three Northwest Airlines employees intentionally breached a security checkpoint at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix as flights resumed Thursday.

Two ground crew employees cleared the checkpoint with a pocketknife and a corkscrew while a pilot passed without proper identification, airport spokeswoman Suzanne Luber told The AP.

"Once they did that, they turned around and said, 'Hey, look what we did,''' she said. Their point: to show that security gaps still exist days after terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Airport officials evacuated the terminal's north concourse and swept it for dangerous materials. Nothing was found and the concourse was reopened.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Madelyn Sawyer said it was investigating the actions of the airline employees and of the security workers.

Northwest spokeswoman Mary Beth Shubert said: "We are concerned about these reports, and we plan to cooperate thoroughly with the airport authorities and take appropriate action.''

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