Water filtration device triggered Terminal 2 evacuation at MSP

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Water filtration device triggered Terminal 2 evacuation at MSP

Article by: Star Tribune
Updated: June 4, 2012 - 9:23 PM

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What appeared to be a "poorly constructed pipe bomb" to security agents who evacuated the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport's Terminal 2, previously the Humphrey terminal, ended up being a medical water filtration device.

Transportation Security Administration agents who spotted the suspicious device at about 4:30 p.m. Sunday called in the bomb squad and authorities partially evacuated Terminal 2. Access to the terminal by road and light rail was cut off for a time as investigators tried to determine what the device was, spokeswoman Melissa Scovronski said.

A few flights were delayed but none was canceled, she said.

It wasn't until after the Bloomington bomb squad carefully removed the luggage from the screening device and examined the device up close that authorities realized the item was merely a water filtration device.

The passenger who was transporting it explained she had previously traveled from Denver to Minneapolis with the device without setting off any alarms, according to police reports. After the device was examined and she was interviewed, the passenger was sent on her way to Anchorage. No charges were filed.

It was the second time in a little more than a month that Terminal 2 was evacuated for what turned out to be a water filtration device in checked luggage. The man in the previous incident also was not charged.

PAUL WALSH