Knife found on JWA plane; TSA points to employees

Nearly 200 passengers boarding a flight from John Wayne Airport to Phoenix on Wednesday had to disembark after a passenger found a knife aboard the plane, airport officials said.

A passenger aboard the 10 a.m. U.S. Airways flight to Phoenix found a 3-inch pocket knife on the floor of the plane and turned it over to the flight crew, airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said.

The 190 passengers went through security screening before boarding again, Wedge said. No passengers were detained. Transportation Security Administration officials are focusing their investigation on pre-flight crews. TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said it’s unlikely a passenger got the knife through security. An airline employee or plane staffer most likely dropped it between flights, he said.

The flight eventually took off at about 12:30 p.m., Wedge said.

— Joseph Serna