11Alive found in the first four months of 2025, there were at least four instances where a crew member randomly selected for screening had a loaded gun.
ATLANTA — Changes are coming to the way TSA screens pilots, flight attendants, and airline crew members.
It comes after 11Alive News Investigates discovered airline crew members caught with weapons during random screens at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
Known Crewmember (KCM) checkpoints are separate from the public TSA screening lines. Through KCM, pilots, flight attendants, and other crew members scan their badges and are exempt from security screening, unless they are randomly selected.
Police records show that in the first four months of 2025, there were at least four instances where a randomly selected crew member was caught with a gun.
All four weapons were loaded. One was carried internationally by a Delta flight attendant before it was detected.
11Alive News reviewed body camera footage from Atlanta Police Department officers who responded to those incidents. Conversations between officers appear to indicate it’s not an uncommon occurrence.
“Unfortunately, it happens, you’re not the first,” an officer is heard telling one suspect.
In a separate incident, one officer tells another, “This is my second one this week.”
In the footage, you can also hear officers express frustration over the KCM process.
“I don’t know why they don’t screen them, that’s strange to me,” one officer is heard saying. “Hopefully, we’ll never have this happen again. I’m hoping this is going to change policy because that’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard that known crew members don’t get screened.”
Another officer later chimes in, “It’s just the strangest thing. I mean, just open a dedicated lane and screen everybody. It’s not gonna take that long.”
Mark Howell, spokesperson for TSA, said the KCM program has been in place since 2011. There are nearly 200 dedicated KCM access points at 112 airports throughout the U.S.
“In the instance of an employee, it’s handled a bit differently than passengers,” he said.
Howell confirmed a change is coming. The TSA will end the KCM program by the end of 2025 and replace it with a new Crewmember Access Point (CMAP) program.
Howell said he could not yet reveal specifics, but in a statement, confirmed the change “represents a broad security enhancement that has been in development for years.”
The KCM program was jointly developed and is currently managed by the Air Line Pilots Association and the trade group Airlines for America. That partnership will also come to an end with the dissolution of KCM, Howell confirmed. The CMAP program will be run solely by TSA.
“TSA plans to implement the Crewmember Access Point program (CMAP), which is a security improvement and successor to the current Known Crewmember Program,” the TSA’s statement continued. “The new CMAP, when implemented, will provide opted-in, eligible crew members with expedited access to the sterile areas at participating airports.”
The Atlanta Police Department opted not to criminally charge any of the four crew members caught with guns this year, which is consistent with its policy, recently covered by 11Alive News.
However, the crew members will face TSA fines, which can range from $3,000 to nearly $15,000 depending on the circumstances. They may also face employment termination, depending on individual airline policy.
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