US to search aircraft after box cutters found

All commercial aircraft will be searched by US security personnel within the next 24 hours after the discovery of box cutters, bleach and other items aboard two Southwest Airlines Inc. planes, federal law enforcement officials said yesterday.

They said the FBI, working with the Department of Homeland Security, is investigating the discovery of the box cutters, bleach and other items found late on Thursday in plastic bags on the planes that landed in Houston and New Orleans.

Box cutters were used as a weapon by the September 11, 2001, hijackers.

The search of all aircraft was directed by the Department of Homeland Security and its Transportation Security Administration, the officials said.

In Dallas, Southwest said the items were discovered in a lavatory compartment while maintenance was being performed on an aircraft lavatory in New Orleans on Thursday evening. Inside a small plastic bag were a small number of box cutters and other items, it said.