I-Team: NC Investigation Into Tisdale Death Complete
BOSTON (CBS) - Sources tell the I-Team the North Carolina investigation into the death of 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale is complete but that the city manager in Charlotte wants the report to remain confidential. At the same time, there's a call for a review of airport security across the country by a local Congressman.
Two breaches in security at the Charlotte Douglas Airport within days of each other involving Boston bound planes is why Massachusetts Congressman Bill Keating is calling for a Congressional hearing by the House Homeland Security Committee to review airport security across the country. Keating said, "It's not just troubling, it's shocking and with everything we're doing with airplane security to have these kind of breaches is a major concern, it's a threat to the entire system."
WBZ-TV's Kathy Curran reports.
The mangled body of Delvonte Tisdale was found in a Milton neighborhood in November. Investigators say the teen climbed into the wheel well of a US Airways Plane in Charlotte and fell from the jet as it's landing gear came down on approach to Logan.
The I-Team discovered a major breakdown in airport security at the same airport four days later when an undercover inspector in Charlotte paid a Jet Blue ticket agent one hundred dollars to get a package on board a Boston bound flight - no questions asked. Keating says the feds need to look at security in general and security at airport perimeters. "Is the perimeter secure, is that the way Delvonte Tisdale got in? That seems to be the case since he didn't show up on video elsewhere," said Keating.
Milton Police Chief Richard Wells is troubled by the fact that a teen with no money and little planning could breach security. Wells said, "From a national perspective you need to look at how did this happen and why did it happen so easily." It's a concern echoed by Keating. He says this calls for a very serious, comprehensive review not just at Charlotte-Douglas but around the country because certainly someone with terrorist motives could have put an explosive on that plane.
TSA officials will be briefing Keating's staff and the staff of the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee Friday afternoon. We've learned they'll be discussing the Tisdale case and airport perimeter security across the country in general.
