--- description: Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has ordered TSA to address breaches. title: TSA Failed 95% of Fake Weapons Tests, Investigation Finds image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce5614a1599fd713/69885282a988ca99026b2cd1/tsa.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Aviation](/tag/aviation/) ## Aviation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # TSA Failed 95% of Fake Weapons Tests, Investigation Finds by [Tom Costello / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## Tom Costello / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2015 1:20 AM CUT  A TSA officer works at a security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 25, 2015. A TSA officer works at a security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 25, 2015.Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Tom Costello / NBC News](/author/nbc-news/) ## Tom Costello / NBC News Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 2, 2015 1:20 AM CUT A recent internal investigation by the Department of Homeland Security has found security failures at dozens of the nations’ busiest airports—breaches that allowed undercover investigators to smuggle weapons, fake explosives and other contraband through numerous checkpoints. In one case, an alarm sounded, but even during a pat down, the screening officer failed to detect a fake plastic explosive taped to an undercover agent’s back. In all, so-called “Red Teams” of Homeland Security agents posing as passengers were able get weapons past Transportation Security Administration agents in 67 out of 70 tests — a 95 percent failure rate, according to agency officials. Upon learning the initial findings… [Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/investigation-breaches-us-airports-allowed-weapons-through-n367851 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3904473/tsa-security-test-breach-fail/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3904473/tsa-security-test-breach-fail/"},"headline":"TSA Failed 95% of Fake Weapons Tests, Investigation Finds","datePublished":"2015-06-02T01:20:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:48:46.555Z","description":"Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has ordered TSA to address breaches","url":"https://time.com/3904473/tsa-security-test-breach-fail/","keywords":["Aviation","Security"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce5614a1599fd713/69885282a988ca99026b2cd1/tsa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tom Costello / NBC News"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltce5614a1599fd713/69885282a988ca99026b2cd1/tsa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TSA Officers Work As Homeland Security Shutdown Nears Amid Immigration Impasse","caption":"TSA Officers Work As Homeland Security Shutdown Nears Amid Immigration Impasse","creditText":"Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/aviation/","name":"Aviation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3904473/tsa-security-test-breach-fail/","name":"TSA Failed 95% of Fake Weapons Tests, Investigation Finds"}}]}] ```