Just Who's Laughing Now?

A 20-year old man from North Carolina is under arrest, held in connection with two bags found in Southwest Airline 737s. He's described as a college student. Not long ago, reports indicate he communicated with the TSA, saying he planned to put packages on aircraft to expose security gaps.

"Based on the investigation thus far, this individual does not appear to pose any further threat to airline security," said Cassandra Chandler, the FBI's assistant director of public affairs in Washington.

More than 7,000 civil aircraft that fly in the United States were being searched on orders from the government, after plastic bags with boxcutters and notes were found on board two Southwest Airlines planes.

"It doesn't appear to be a terrorist event," FBI Director Robert Mueller said during a visit to the Bureau's field office in Houston. "I think it is safe to fly."

The plastic bags were found on a SWA 737 in New Orleans (LA) and another in Houston (TX) at roughly the same time, according to the FBI.

The New Orleans aircraft had flown in from Orlando (FL).  The plane in Houston was there for maintenance, according to a Southwest Airlines statement:

"While performing maintenance on an aircraft lavatory in New Orleans last evening, several items were discovered in a lavatory compartment. The items, inside a small plastic bag, included a small number of boxcutters and other items intended to simulate a threat.

"A similar discovery was made in Houston last night on another aircraft during a scheduled maintenance inspection (C check).

"A note in both packages indicated the items were intended to challenge the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint security procedures.

"Both discoveries were made on Thursday night, Oct. 16, by Southwest Airlines employees. These items were immediately turned over to authorities with whom we will continue to cooperate during this investigation.

"After consulting with the TSA, we immediately completed inspections of our entire fleet of 385 aircraft and found no additional miscellaneous items. We continue to cooperate with the TSA and FBI to determine the origin of these items.

"We will not speculate on who might have left these items onboard. We will cooperate with the federal authorities to investigate this thoroughly."

In addition to the boxcutters and notes, an FAA source says the bags contained a chemical that appeared to be bleach, as well as Play-Doh, a clay toy for children. Bleach can temporarily blind someone if thrown in their eyes, while clay can either hide explosives or attach them to another surface. In this case, one official said the clay was formed to simulate a plastic explosive.

The notes said the TSA needs to improve passenger inspections. MSNBC.com reported one note said, "Look what I was able to get through." The notes included the exact date and location the items were placed on board the planes, the official said. But a TSA official who didn't want to be named would not provide other details, except to say the items found on the New Orleans plane were not placed aboard in Orlando, according to one note. The notes said the packages were stashed on the planes in August. NBC News reported the Transportation Security Administration received an e-mail in September bragging about carrying similar packages onto airplanes.

But there are early indications that the items might not have gone through the screening process almost every passenger has to endure.  "We’re not sure this went through a security checkpoint," Ernie DeSoto, a spokesman for the Houston Airport System, told KPRC-TV. "This may have come through a different avenue, so to speak. We’re not sure how."

FBI spokeswoman Susan Whitson said the investigation has been tasked to some of the FBI’s 84 joint terrorism task forces and the Department of Homeland Security.

There are acknowledged problems with passenger screening, even two years after the 9/11 attacks. Testifying before Congress on Thursday, TSA Director James Loy (Adm., USCG, ret.) said the relatively new agency is seriously short on cash and equipment. Loy confirmed that several TSA officers were recently able to smuggle weapons through security checkpoints at Boston's Logan International. He told Congress that fewer than 20 of the nation's airports will get devices that sniff checked luggage for bombs.

"We cannot provide world-class, effective security on the cheap," Loy said. But in his testimony, Loy wouldn't say exactly how much more money his agency wants to close the gaps and tighten inspection.

Was it a joke? If so, not many people found it funny. The al Qaeda terrorists who hijacked four airliners on September 11, 2001 But as a result of the discovery, the FBI, Homeland Security Department and TSA went into overdrive. "The Department of Homeland Security has directed that all commercial aircraft be searched within the next 24 hours," Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Jennifer Marty said. That was expected to cause some delays at airports nationwide, even though the aircraft were to be searched between flights.

Northwest Airlines promised there would be no delays -- at least, not at its hub airport in Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN). "Northwest will comply with all requests from the federal government," the airline said in a prepared statement. "We do not expect this to affect our schedule."

But officials at SFO in San Francisco (CA) said delays were almost certain.

FMI: www.tsa.gov