Sky Harbor airport evacuated, Passenger poses security threat
By Carmela Kelly, November 2009
News Editor Editor
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Photo courtesy of TSA
TSA officials verify travelers' boarding passes and photo identification to protect the public and staff. |
Passenger carries real grenade to Sky Harbor Airport, officials shut down Terminal 2.
Transportation Security Administration officials shut down Terminal 2 at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after detecting a grenade in a passenger’s carry-on luggage, says TSA spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino.
Ten flights were affected by the closure on Sunday morning, Oct. 2, and all other passengers were evacuated from the main terminal and into the baggage claim area to wait for nearly an hour-and-a-half, says Trevino.
TSA summoned a bomb appraisal officer to the screening area, and then called the Phoenix Police Bomb Squad who determined it was a real grenade, she says. The grenade was eventually found to be inert, but the man described as older may face criminal charges through the U.S. district attorney’s office. If the district attorney chooses not to prosecute, then TSA will pursue a civil suit with a fine.
The man said the grenade belonged to a relative. Who owns it does not matter when it comes to TSA and prosecution.
Grenades whether inert, alive or replicas are prohibited travel items, says Trevino, and it is a crime.
Travelers need to think before they get to the airport how they may be perceived either through gestures, jokes or carrying an inert item.
“There was a guy who recently joked about a bomb,” says Trevino. He did not expect the serious response (to a threat) he got from TSA and became so visibly upset that he had to sit down.
Recently, TSA has been seeing replica grenades on plaques such as for “grenade awards” given companies or as gifts for surviving or accomplishing something. These too are prohibited, she says.
Trevino advises passengers to completely unpack before they pack for a trip, so they don’t end up bringing a prohibited item they may have forgotten about in their luggage, she says. Finding items such as firearms or knives from hunting or fishing trips is not uncommon. Passengers should visit the TSA Web site to learn what items are currently prohibited.
“Being educated makes the airport experience better for everyone,” she says.
TSA found these prohibited items in Sky Harbor Airport during the month of September:
• four firearms;
• 2,500 knives three inches long or less;
• 110 knives three inches or more;
• 50 box cutters;
• 50 clubs or bats;
• 26 torch lighters;
• 275 tools such as construction workers might use; and
• 20 replica weapons.
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