Box cutters – the type of weapon used by the September 11 hijackers – have been found aboard two aeroplanes in America, it emerged today.

THE Bush administration pledged yesterday to move more aggressively against potential threats in the wake of an incident in which federal authorities said a young man boasted about successfully compromising airline security.

A college student who allegedly hid box cutters and other banned items on four American airliners to expose weaknesses in US security has been charged with a federal crime.

A college student told US authorities he placed box cutters and other banned items aboard two Southwest Airlines planes nearly five weeks before they were found, according to an FBI affidavit.