Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
The entire second-floor ticketing area was evacuated for 45 minutes while authorities investigated.
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 14, 2003
TAMPA -- Airport security officials described it as "a cylinder-shaped object with wires wrapped around it," a spring-loaded device and an electric switch.
It looked just like a bomb, said Chris Ratigan, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Washington, describing a device that set off an alert Monday at Tampa International Airport.
As it turned out, the object of suspicion was a homemade mousetrap tucked into a coffee can, then stuffed inside luggage the passenger intended to carry aboard his Northwest Airlines flight.
"But when the screener looked at (the luggage) on the screen, it triggered a real, 'uh-oh"' Ratigan said.
In fact, the entire second-floor ticketing area was evacuated for 45 minutes. CNN broadcast the evacuation live, and by mid-afternoon newspapers across Florida posted the news of the airport alert on their Web sites.
The scare even merited a brief federal investigation conducted locally by TSA officials who questioned an unidentified male passenger who had packed the cylindrical item. He was released a few hours later without charges.
Passengers can expect more of these 'uh-ohs' in weeks and months to come, as screeners get used to the large bomb-detecting machines and as passengers learn all the innocent things that can be mistaken for explosive devices.
More than 90 percent of the nation's checked luggage will now be mechanically searched for bombs under a Dec. 31 baggage-screening deadline set by law.
Unfortunately for passengers, the machines can mistake packed items like chocolate and cheese for explosives.
Not to mention odd-shaped items like mousetraps inside coffee cans.
Monday, the TIA screener notified airport security of her suspicions at 12:20 p.m., and the bank of elevators near Northwest Airline's second-floor ticket terminal was evacuated, followed by the entire second floor of the main terminal building, airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan said.
Despite the false alarm, airport security officials were pleased with their response and that of Tampa police and fire rescue personnel. Only a few flights were delayed.
"The screeners did their job, the authorities were fast and efficient," Dario Compain, the TSA's federal security director at Tampa International said.