By Steve Neavling
TSA officers found an explosive device in a checked piece of luggage at Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley International Airport.
The 40-year-old man who checked the luggage, Marc Muffley, was charged with possession of an explosive at an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive device on an aircraft, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
On Monday, an alarm alerted TSA screeners to the explosive device, which included a “circular compound” with fuses attached inside the suitcase.
The FBI confirmed the device was an explosive.
Muffley left the airport about five minutes after he was paged over the airport’s speaker system.
He was arrested later that evening.
TSA evacuated the immediate area “out of an abundance of caution,” the agency said in a news release.
“Transportation Security Officers are highly trained and highly skilled professionals at the front line of aviation security who are focused on their mission and catches such as this illustrate the point,” TSA Federal Security Director Karen Keys-Turner said. “This is an example of how the strong partnerships we have established with the airport authority, FBI and local law enforcement came together to ensure the safety and security of the traveling public. I commend our entire TSA team at Lehigh Valley International Airport and the professional manner in which this incident was handled.”
The flight was headed to Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida.
