TSA turns off ShoeScanners

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. government shut down a scanning machine that allowed Orlando, Fla., airline passengers to keep their shoes on after it failed a recent test.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said the ShoeScanner installed at Orlando International Airport in January is being removed after it failed a recent test to gauge its ability to find explosives hidden in shoes, USA Today reported Wednesday.

"We're a ways away from having something that's going to work," TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said.

Kip Hawley, head of the TSA, said removing shoes is a major inconvenience for travelers and said in August that he hoped the machine could be installed in airports across the country.

However, the TSA said in a statement Tuesday that the ShoeScanner "still does not meet standards to ensure detection of explosives."

Steve Hill, a spokesman for GE Security, the General Electric subsidiary that manufactures the devices, said the company plans to continue work on the $200,000 machines.