A guy who allegedly took an explosive device to a Pennsylvania airport on Monday has been detained by FBI officials.
The device is allegedly in Mark Muffley’s, 40, checked suitcase from New York to Orlando, Florida.
Agents claim that after his name was announced over the loudspeaker, he left the airport. He was later apprehended at his home that evening.
Officials from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) claim to have found the device 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.
The strange object was found by TSA screeners about an hour later, and they contacted FBI experts, including a bomb technician, to inspect the contraption.
A 3-inch (7.5 cm) device concealed in the lining of the suspect’s rolling luggage was discovered to contain fuses and explosive powder, according to FBI bomb technician Jared Witmier, who is named in the court paperwork.
According to the criminal complaint, there was a quick fuse that appeared to have been inserted after the compound was manufactured and a hobby fuse that appeared to have been added afterward.
The “powder is suspected to be a blend of flash powder and the dark granules that are utilized in commercial grade fireworks”, the FBI court statement reads.
The black powder and flash powder posed a major risk to the aircraft and passengers because they are easily ignited by heat and friction.
The bag also had two circuit breakers that were taped together, a can of butane, a lighter, a pipe with residue made of white powder, a cordless drill, and a wireless drill.
According to the court documents, Mr. Muffley was observed leaving the airport by surveillance cameras five minutes after he was paged over the loudspeakers at the airport. Later on Monday, he was located at his house in Lansford, Pennsylvania.
He is accused of having an explosive in an airport and of having one or more explosive or incendiary devices on board an airplane.
He has a court date on Thursday.
