DFW Airport evacuates part of terminal C due to CTX screening machine image

Thursday afternoon DFW airport's terminal C was closed after a TSA CTX screening machine operator sighted something inside a passenger's bag that looked suspiciously like a pipe bomb. Rather than summarizing what happened, we thought it would be more interesting to see what David Magana, Public Affairs Manager for DFW airport, had to say about the situation. Clearly, the airport's Department of Public Safety and the TSA did a great job of properly handling the situation. It all started with this message...

Officers from the DFW International Airport Department of Public Safety and agents from the Transportation Security Administration are jointly investigating a suspicious device found inside a piece of luggage during a routine baggage screening about 1:25 this afternoon at DFW Airport.

The device, which resembles a pipe, was discovered during a TSA baggage screening operation in Terminal C, near Gate 21.  The containing bag was dropped off there for screening by a passenger as required by law, and the passenger presumably proceeded into the secure areas of the airport to await a flight.

The bag remains inside the CTX screening machine at this hour, and DFW's Mobile Command Post and bomb squad have been called in for further investigation.

This particular area of Terminal C near Gate 21 on the public side has been evacuated and a three hundred foot perimeter has been established as a precaution during the investigation.

DFW Airport's Public Affairs Department and the TSA will update you when the situation is resolved or as the situation warrants.

A few minutes later ANN received this update, with a slight adjustment to the time of the incident...

Officers from the DFW International Airport Department of Public Safety and agents from the Transportation Security Administration are jointly investigating a suspicious device found inside a piece of luggage during a routine baggage screening about 12:30 this afternoon at DFW Airport.

The device, which resembles a pipe, was discovered during a TSA baggage screening operation in Terminal C, near Gate 21.  The containing bag was dropped off there for screening by a passenger as required by law.  The passenger subsequently boarded a flight to Philadelphia and is in the air at this hour.  The passenger will be questioned upon landing in Philadelphia.

The bag remains inside the CTX screening machine at this hour, and DFW's Mobile Command Post and bomb squad have been called in for further investigation.

The bomb squad will remove the bag with a robot, and place the bag into a containment vessel for transport to a range on airport grounds for further investigation.

This particular area of Terminal C near Gate 21 on the public side has been evacuated and a perimeter has been established as a precaution during the investigation.

At Terminal C, Gates 17-21 on the secure side will close when removal operations proceed.  Right now they are operational.  The gates may or may not experience delays, but if there are delays, they are not expected to be significant.

Further updates will be issued as the situation warrants.

Shortly thereafter we received this message, which pretty much speaks for itself. How do you spell relief?

The device removed from Terminal C this afternoon turns out not to be an explosive device. It is apparently a microphone that looked remarkably similar to a pipe bomb. More details forthcoming shortly.

....and a few minutes later, it was all over.

Officers from the DFW International Airport Department of Public Safety and agents from the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have completed their investigation of a suspicious device found at the Airport today and have determined the device was a vintage microphone which bore a very strong resemblance to a pipe bomb.

The incident caused a section of Terminal C to be closed for an hour and 45 minutes, but there were no flight delays reported as a result.

The incident began about 12:30 p.m., when a TSA screener saw the device inside a piece of checked luggage during a routine baggage screening.  The screener notified supervisors and the DFW Airport Department of Public Safety, and officers determined the device warranted further investigation.  As a precaution, DPS officers evacuated a section of Terminal C from gates 17 to 21 at 1:30 p.m.  The Airport's bomb detection squad and mobile command post were also mobilized to the scene.

The luggage had been dropped off at the TSA's CTX screening machine by a passenger as required by law.  The passenger subsequently boarded a flight to Birmingham, Alabama and was questioned upon landing in Birmingham by federal agents.

DPS officers removed the luggage from the screening machine with a robot at 3:12 p.m., and placed the bag into a containment vessel (called a single-vent trailer) for transport from the terminal to a range on airport grounds where it underwent further investigation with the robot. 

Information relayed from the passenger in Birmingham to the DFW DPS led commanders to engage a bomb technician in a protective suit to retrieve the device from the bag and confirm it was a microphone.  The investigation concluded at about 5:55 p.m.

DFW Airport reports no flights were delayed as a result of the incident, despite the temporary evacuation of part of Terminal C.  All airport operations have returned to normal.

Kudos to the airport management, the airport's DPS and the TSA for a job well done. To have taken care of this potentially dangerous situation without affecting the departure and arrival schedules at the terminal is no small feat.

FMI: www.dfwairport.com