...Can't wait to hear the joke Jay Leno makes about this one! --- Blaine Thompson <blainethompson@hotmail.com> wrote: > http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/mon/news/news_1n17grenade.html > > Woman boards plane with fake grenade > > Traveler claims mistake; security questions raised > > By Alex Roth > STAFF WRITER > > Passengers on an American Airlines flight from San > Diego to Chicago had just > settled into their seats yesterday when something > dropped to the floor with > a metallic thud. > > It looked remarkably like a live hand grenade. > > "You could just see it lying there right near the > aisle," said passenger > Fred Bode, 60, a retired Air Force colonel who was > heading home to > Kalamazoo, Mich. > > The grenade turned out to be fake -- a dummy model > used by airport officials > to test security at Lindbergh Field. Beyond scaring > the passengers and > delaying the flight for several hours, the incident > is a major embarrassment > for the Rochester, N.Y., woman who brought it aboard > -- and for the people > in charge of private security at Lindbergh. > > Security at airports nationwide has been heightened > in light of the Sept. 11 > terrorist attacks. > > This much about the episode seems clear, authorities > said: Passenger Lolita > Austria, a 57-year-old Rochester restaurant worker, > carried the grenade > onboard the plane by mistake after picking up a bag > that didn't belong to > her. The bag belonged to one of the private > companies in charge of > passenger-screening at the airport. > > The bag contained a sweat shirt and a metal dummy > grenade bearing the > marking, "FAA X-ray test object, contains no > explosives," said Harbor Police > Sgt. John Forsythe. > > "We don't know whether the bag was picked up > inadvertently or if it was > stolen," he said. > > Austria, who had passed through screening, > apparently picked up the bag > shortly after it had gone through the X-ray machine > as part of a routine > security test, Forsythe said. > > Austria told The San Diego Union-Tribune she picked > up the bag by mistake > after confusing it with one of her shopping bags. > Forsythe said police > probably would recommend that she be charged with > petty theft, a > misdemeanor. > > In either case, it's unclear why the private > security company didn't notice > the bag's disappearance. The company in charge of > security at the checkpoint > is St. Louis-based Huntleigh USA Corp., Forsythe > said. Company officials in > San Diego referred questions to their company > headquarters. > > Austria walked onto American Airlines Flight 788 > without realizing she was > toting a fake grenade. The plane taxied away from > the gate with 105 > passengers and five crew members onboard. > > At some point before takeoff, Austria removed the > garment from the bag -- > and out dropped the grenade, right into the aisle. > > "It was rolling around on the floor," said passenger > Torbert Rocheford, 46, > a professor at the University of Illinois at > Urbana-Champaign. > > As stunned passengers summoned the flight > attendants, Austria tried to > explain that she was as baffled as everyone else > about the object's origin. > The other passengers had a difficult time > understanding what Austria, an > immigrant from the Philippines, was saying. > > "You didn't know whether it was a big joke or what," > passenger Bode said. > > The captain immediately returned the plane to the > terminal, where a Harbor > Police officer boarded the aircraft with a > bomb-sniffing dog. Austria was > removed from the plane in handcuffs. Her sister, who > was traveling with her, > also was taken off the flight. > > The other passengers had to get off the plane and go > through security a > second time, and bomb-sniffing dogs also checked the > aircraft's cargo hold > at the captain's request, Forsythe said. > > The plane, which had been scheduled for takeoff at > approximately 2:30 p.m., > didn't leave San Diego until 5:02 p.m. Austria and > her sister were > questioned by Harbor Police and the FBI for several > hours and then released. > > The incident caused only minor inconveniences to > everyone other than the > passengers and crew on Flight 788. An airport > spokeswoman said a British > Airways plane was delayed from takeoff for 37 > minutes because of a security > backup caused by the episode. No other flights were > affected, she said. > > American Airlines officials couldn't be reached for > comment yesterday. > > FAA spokesman Mike Fergus in Washington state said > last night federal > investigators would be asking for a report on the > incident from Huntleigh > USA Corp. > > "They're going to be doing a report, and we will be > reviewing it," Fergus > said. > > There are several questions that need answering, he > added. > > "Was it Huntleigh walking (the bag) through, or did > someone else? Why was it > left there? Was it left there as a test?" he said. > > Austria, who was visiting San Diego for her > granddaughter's birthday, said > the experience of being escorted off the plane in > handcuffs left her "scared > and shaking." > > "I made a mistake," she said. > > Staff writer Lisa Petrillo, staff photographer K.C. > Alfred and librarian > Danielle Cervantes contributed to this report. > > Copyright 2001 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. > > _________________________________________________________________ > Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Check out Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Auctions for all of your unique holiday gifts! Buy at http://shopping.yahoo.com or bid at http://auctions.yahoo.com