Incident: Video released Feb. 12 shows Rommy Gadelmoula bringing a meat cleaver through TSA screening and onto Delta Flight 3233 (Portland to Salt Lake City) on Nov. 13.
Response: Crew discovered the cleaver, officers removed the passenger, and all travelers were deplaned and rescreened, producing a roughly three-hour delay.
Outcome: Gadelmoula was not charged and took a later flight; the TSA employee involved received additional training.
Newly released video shows a passenger carrying a meat cleaver through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening and onto a Delta commercial flight on Nov. 13, prompting a security halt and a lengthy delay.
The footage, published Feb. 12, captures moments before the scheduled departure of Delta Flight 3233 from Portland to Salt Lake City. According to a police report cited by Fox 12 and reporting by PEOPLE, the traveler — later identified as Rommy Gadelmoula — boarded with the cleaver concealed in a shopping bag.
Passengers were boarding around 8 p.m. when the aircraft’s captain left the cabin to speak with airport staff and later announced there was a security issue. Video shows officers removing Gadelmoula from the plane while he held an item. A flight attendant reportedly alerted crew that she had spotted the meat cleaver in the passenger’s bag.
All passengers were ordered to deplane and go through security screening again. Witness Jacob Hafen told Fox 12 that travelers waited “a long amount of time at the gate” and that tensions rose as the delay continued. The incident ultimately produced about a three-hour delay for the flight.
According to the police report, Gadelmoula told investigators he brought the cleaver because he had gotten “a good deal” on it. He was not arrested or charged and was permitted to board a later flight the same day.
The TSA employee who let the item through remains on the job but has received additional training, the union said. Trang Kim, vice president of AFGE Local 1127 (the TSA union in Oregon), noted the incident occurred the day after a 43-day federal government shutdown ended and suggested heightened distractions may have been a factor.
“TSA officers are highly trained to use cutting-edge technology to identify threats and reduce risks for the more than 2 million passengers who pass through checkpoints nationwide each day,” a TSA spokesperson told PEOPLE. The agency emphasized multiple layers of visible and unseen security and urged travelers to “pack smart” and avoid bringing prohibited items.
This episode highlights how a single oversight at a checkpoint can ripple into major delays and operational disruptions for airlines and travelers.
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