WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Transportation Security Administration says the agency will allow passengers to carry small knives onto planes despite a backlash against the proposal.
TSA Administrator John Pistole told the a House committee on Thursday that he doesn't believe small folding knives would enable a terrorist to take over a plane and that finding and eliminating them is time-consuming.
Pistole says that screeners find 2,000 small knives a day on passengers or in their carry-on bags, with each incident requiring two to three minutes to deal with.
Several lawmakers at the hearing say they don't see much difference between the knives and the box cutters used by 9/11 terrorists.
