TSA officers at Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport got quite the surprise when a checked bag revealed several objects that looked like detonators. The pieces were buried inside fracking equipment used to extract oil or natural gas.
TSA shared details about the discovery on Thursday, Aug. 27. TSA Officer Faith Stonebraker first noticed several concerning items on an X-ray screen while checking a hard-sided case.
Stonebraker cleared two of the alarms, but another part of the image still worried her. She asked Supervisory TSA Officer Michael Tippie to take a closer look at the bag.
Tippie noticed a mass inside an object that looked like a pipe, so the Oklahoma City Bomb Squad was called. The bomb squad removed the pieces and determined they were realistic replicas rather than working detonators.
The Detonators Were Found Inside Pipes
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The bomb squad ruled the items safe after removing them from the equipment, but that did not mean the passenger could continue traveling with them.
TSA did not say why the passenger packed the equipment or where the traveler was headed. The agency also did not announce whether the discovery caused any flight delays or resulted in a citation.
Replica Explosives Cannot Fly in Checked Bags
Even though the detonators were not real, they still were not allowed on the plane because TSA prohibits realistic replicas of explosives in both carry-on and checked bags.
Tippie explained that TSA officers cannot always determine whether explosive-looking materials are actually inactive. Anything resembling an improvised explosive device or one of its parts must be treated as a possible threat until it can be safely examined.
Travelers Can Ask TSA Before Packing
Travelers who may be bringing unusual tools or work equipment with them should check TSA’s What Can I Bring? database before packing. You can type in the item you’re hoping to bring to find out if you can pack it in a carry-on bag, checked luggage or if it isn’t allowed at all.
Passengers can also text “Travel” to 275-872 to reach AskTSA with questions. In this case, the replica detonators would have needed another way to reach their destination because they were prohibited from flying at all.