Just-released footage of the November incident shows the passenger, Rommy Gadelmoula, who reportedly brought the item because he got “a good deal” on it
NEED TO KNOW
- A passenger on Delta Flight 3233 from Portland to Salt Lake City took a meat cleaver onto his flight on Nov. 13
- On Thursday, Feb. 12, new footage was released documenting the incident, including the pilot’s reaction
- It was also revealed that police say the passenger was Rommy Gadelmoula, who brought the item on board because he got “a good deal” on it
New footage shows clips of the passenger who was caught taking a meat cleaver onto a commercial flight in November 2025.
On Nov. 13, a passenger, later identified in a police report as Rommy Gadelmoula, on Delta Flight 3233 from Portland to Salt Lake City was able to walk through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening with a meat cleaver.
Around 8 p.m., passengers boarded the aircraft, but once everyone was on board, the pilot exited the plane and spoke to airport employees, the footage showed. The passengers were reportedly made to wait for "a long amount of time at the gate," passenger Jacob Hafen told Fox 12.
As they waited, "everybody was getting a little agitated and fidgety, and finally the captain came on and said, ‘We have a security issue we need to clear before we can take off,’ ” Hafen said.
Then Gadelmoula was seen being removed from the plane by an officer, holding an item.
It was later revealed that a flight attendant spotted a meat cleaver in the passenger's shopping bag, according to a police report, Fox 12 reported.
As a result, all passengers were forced to deplane and undergo rescreening. “It was pretty insane to think that something like that can get on an airplane,” Hafen said.
Gadelmoula told authorities he brought the cleaver on board because he had gotten “a good deal” on it, per a police report cited by Fox 12. He was not charged with any crimes and permitted to board a later flight that day.
The whole ordeal caused a three-hour delay.
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Shutterstock; Getty
TSA union vice president of AFGE Local 1127 in Oregon, Trang Kim, said the incident occurred one day after the historic 43-day federal government shutdown concluded. “No one wants to miss something of that magnitude,” Kim said. “But mistakes happen, and I am going to blame the mistake on the distractions.”
Meanwhile, the TSA employee responsible for the incident remains employed and has received additional training.
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"TSA officers are highly trained to use cutting-edge technology to identify threats and reduce risks for the more than 2 million passengers who pass through checkpoints nationwide each day," a TSA spokesperson said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.
"With multiple layers of security both seen and unseen to keep our transportation systems secure, TSA has evolved over two decades to stay ahead of bad actors and emerging threats," the statement continued. "Passengers are urged to 'pack smart' and not bring any prohibited items to the checkpoint that will slow down operations."
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