'Pipe bomb' found in Anchorage airport luggage, passenger claims it was an 'avalanche device'

A pipe bomb was found in a passenger's carry-on luggage at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska on Sunday.

The passenger, who was flying to the North Slope, claims that the device was merely an "avalanche device," reports the Anchorage Daily News. Fire and police chief for the airport, Jesse Davis, commented, "I don't know of any avalanche dangers up on the North Slope."

The passenger was set to fly on Shared Services Aviation, which ferries oil contractors and employees to the North Slope. It is jointly run by BP and ConocoPhillips.

Police are stressing that though the suspect, whose name has not been released, was trying to get an explosive device onto a plane, there didn't seem to be an actual triggering device among his things.

According to KTUU, when the pipe bomb was discovered, the area was closed down until it was safely removed from the area.

An Upper One Lounge employee, Jordan Seward, commented, "I didn't know what was going on at first, but it made me feel more safe to see how security handled the issue."

image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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