© Michael Dwyer / AP fileMassachusetts State Police officer Rob Gallant patrols with his bomb-sniffing dog Chico at Logan International Airport in Boston on July 1.
Bomb-sniffing K-9 teams at 10 major U.S. airports have failed tests that check how accurately they can detect explosives, according to an NBC News investigation.
New records obtained by KXAS through a Freedom of Information Act request call into question whether those dog teams are training enough to stay sharp and keep bombs out of airports and off planes by screening baggage, cargo and passengers for potential threats.
K-9 teams funded by the Transportation Security Administration have failed annual certification tests at 10 large airports 52 times between Jan. 1, 2013, and June 15, 2015, the most recent detailed numbers TSA provided.
Some teams failed to find explosives, while others had too many false alarms that could cause unnecessary airport evacuations.Dog teams failed 21 times at Los Angeles International, and 10 times at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., during the same time period. Teams at Chicago's O'Hare, Reagan National in D.C., JFK in New York, San Diego and Bradley International in Hartford, Connecticut, all failed from one and three times.
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