US airport, Man detained after explosive discovered in suitcase

• TSA officials said they discovered the gadget during a regular inspection.
• Mark Muffley was arrested after reportedly bringing an explosive device to a Pennsylvania airport.
• He fled the airport as his name was yelled over the loudspeaker.

A man was caught by FBI officials on Monday after reportedly bringing an explosive device to a Pennsylvania airport.

Mark Muffley, 40, is accused of concealing the device in his checked suitcase before flying to Orlando, Florida.

He fled the airport as his name was yelled over the loudspeaker, according to officials, and was apprehended later that evening at his house.

TSA officials said they discovered the gadget during a regular inspection.

According to officials, Mr. Muffley checked in for Allegiant Air Flight 201 on Monday morning at Lehigh Valley International Airport, 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of Philadelphia.

Screeners detected questionable object

TSA screeners detected the questionable object about an hour later and called FBI professionals, including a bomb technician, to inspect it.

According to charge documents, FBI bomb specialist Jared Witmier discovered fuses and explosive powder in a 3 inch (7.5cm) device buried in the lining of the suspect’s rolling luggage.

According to the criminal complaint, there was a quick fuse that appeared to be part of the original fabrication of the compound and a hobby fuse that appeared to have been added post-manufacture.

The “powder is suspected to be a mixture of flash powder and the dark granulars that are used in commercial grade fireworks”, the FBI court document says.

“The black powder and flash powder are susceptible to ignite from heat and friction and posed a significant risk to the aircraft and passengers.”

The bag also contained “a can of butane, a lighter, a pipe with white powder residue, a wireless drill with cordless batteries” and two circuit breakers that were taped together.

Mr Muffley was observed leaving the airport by security cameras five minutes after he was paged over the airport loud speaker, according to court documents. Later that day, he was tracked down to his house in Lansford, Pennsylvania.

He is accused of having an explosive in an airport and attempting to deploy an explosive or incendiary device on an aeroplane.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

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