DFW Airport evacuates
part of terminal C due to CTX screening machine image
Thursday afternoon DFW airport's terminal C was closed after a
TSA CTX screening machine operator sighted something inside a
passenger's bag that looked suspiciously like a pipe bomb. Rather
than summarizing what happened, we thought it would be more
interesting to see what David Magana, Public Affairs Manager for
DFW airport, had to say about the situation. Clearly, the airport's
Department of Public Safety and the TSA did a great job of properly
handling the situation. It all started with this message...
Officers from the DFW International Airport Department of
Public Safety and agents from the Transportation Security
Administration are jointly investigating a suspicious device found
inside a piece of luggage during a routine baggage screening about
1:25 this afternoon at DFW Airport.
The device, which resembles a pipe, was discovered during a
TSA baggage screening operation in Terminal C, near Gate 21.
The containing bag was dropped off there for screening by a
passenger as required by law, and the passenger presumably
proceeded into the secure areas of the airport to await a
flight.
The bag remains inside the CTX screening machine at this
hour, and DFW's Mobile Command Post and bomb squad have been called
in for further investigation.
This particular area of Terminal C near Gate 21 on the
public side has been evacuated and a three hundred foot perimeter
has been established as a precaution during the
investigation.
DFW Airport's Public Affairs Department and the TSA will
update you when the situation is resolved or as the situation
warrants.
A few minutes later ANN
received this update, with a slight adjustment to the time of the
incident...
Officers from the DFW International Airport Department of
Public Safety and agents from the Transportation Security
Administration are jointly investigating a suspicious device found
inside a piece of luggage during a routine baggage screening about
12:30 this afternoon at DFW Airport.
The device, which resembles a pipe, was discovered during a
TSA baggage screening operation in Terminal C, near Gate 21.
The containing bag was dropped off there for screening by a
passenger as required by law. The passenger subsequently
boarded a flight to Philadelphia and is in the air at this
hour. The passenger will be questioned upon landing in
Philadelphia.
The bag remains inside the CTX screening machine at this
hour, and DFW's Mobile Command Post and bomb squad have been called
in for further investigation.
The bomb squad will remove the bag with a robot, and place
the bag into a containment vessel for transport to a range on
airport grounds for further investigation.
This particular area of Terminal C near Gate 21 on the
public side has been evacuated and a perimeter has been established
as a precaution during the investigation.
At Terminal C, Gates 17-21 on the secure side will close
when removal operations proceed. Right now they are
operational. The gates may or may not experience delays, but
if there are delays, they are not expected to be
significant.
Further updates will be issued as the situation
warrants.
Shortly thereafter we received this message, which pretty
much speaks for itself. How do you spell relief?
The device removed from Terminal C this afternoon turns out
not to be an explosive device. It is apparently a microphone that
looked remarkably similar to a pipe bomb. More details forthcoming
shortly.
....and a few minutes later, it was all over.
Officers from the DFW International Airport Department of
Public Safety and agents from the Transportation Security
Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have
completed their investigation of a suspicious device found at the
Airport today and have determined the device was a vintage
microphone which bore a very strong resemblance to a pipe
bomb.
The incident caused a section of Terminal C to be closed for
an hour and 45 minutes, but there were no flight delays reported as
a result.
The incident began about 12:30 p.m., when a TSA screener saw
the device inside a piece of checked luggage during a routine
baggage screening. The screener notified supervisors and the
DFW Airport Department of Public Safety, and officers determined
the device warranted further investigation. As a precaution,
DPS officers evacuated a section of Terminal C from gates 17 to 21
at 1:30 p.m. The Airport's bomb detection squad and mobile
command post were also mobilized to the scene.
The luggage had been dropped off at the TSA's CTX screening
machine by a passenger as required by law. The passenger
subsequently boarded a flight to Birmingham, Alabama and was
questioned upon landing in Birmingham by federal agents.
DPS officers removed the luggage from the screening machine
with a robot at 3:12 p.m., and placed the bag into a containment
vessel (called a single-vent trailer) for transport from the
terminal to a range on airport grounds where it underwent further
investigation with the robot.
Information relayed from the passenger in Birmingham to the
DFW DPS led commanders to engage a bomb technician in a protective
suit to retrieve the device from the bag and confirm it was a
microphone. The investigation concluded at about 5:55
p.m.
DFW Airport reports no flights were delayed as a result of
the incident, despite the temporary evacuation of part of Terminal
C. All airport operations have returned to normal.
Kudos to the airport management, the airport's DPS and
the TSA for a job well done. To have taken care of this potentially
dangerous situation without affecting the departure and arrival
schedules at the terminal is no small feat.