FBI: Tarmac Security Possibly Breached
No Bombs, HazMats Found During Baggage Search
Updated: Friday, 08 Oct 2010, 5:48 AM CDT
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PHILADELPHIA - An FBI spokesman says authorities are looking for someone who may have improperly gained access to the tarmac at Philadelphia International Airport, prompting passengers to be removed from a US Airways flight to Bermuda.
FBI spokesman J.J. Klaver tells The Associated Press that US Airways Flight 1070 has been cleared by authorities who swept the jetliner looking for explosives. He says the situation doesn't appear to have any connection to terrorism.
Baggage handlers who began loading the plane around 10 a.m. reported that a third man was seen and asked for identification but then vanished.
As a result, police and the Transportation Security Administration were called, evacuated passengers from the flight around 11 a.m., and the plane was towed from the gate to a remote part of the airport for further investigation.
Sources told Fox 29 News that the man was apparently dressed in an airline uniform and helping to load the plane but lacked a security badge.
US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher confirmed the plane was being searched but would not comment on specifics, citing the ongoing investigation.
SkyFox over the scene showed vehicles in front of and behind the plane as it was being towed away.
The bomb squad removed luggage and police dogs were used to check them and the plane, but no hazardous materials were found.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is now checking luggage for drugs and cash, Fox 29's Dave Schratwieser reported Thursday afternoon from the airport.
A passenger aboard the plane, Amanda Benner, told The Associated Press travelers were told they were removed from the plane because of a "TSA security breach."
"We're in the airport now. They took us off," she told The Associated Press by cell phone. "They told us there was a TSA security breach and we've had to leave everything on the plane and get off. They're re-screening everything on the plane."
There were 12 TSA officers in the area, in addition to Philadelphia police and "all kinds of guys in suits," she said. "They're very stern and serious."
Benner and her husband were en route to Bermuda for a long weekend for their 15th wedding anniversary. (fox news)
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