Man found with pipe bomb

[rvrepairnut]

[quote="GordonH"]I have admit I find it little bizarre that after taking the pipe bomb from the person, they would still let him fly.

and that is why this story is being rerun. it defies logic that any airline personal would not have refused him a boarding pass and called the cops at the time and that's why we have so many problems in todays society we have too many stupid people working at jobs there not capable of doing

[TimmyE]

Good grief, I had more trouble trying to get into New Zealand with a can of preserved fruit. I didn't get arrested, but at least they threw away the fruit!

[A_Britishcolumbian]

inept employee, sure. how many inept employees though? is the catsa itself an inept institution?

where was the bomb for 4 days? if this is a case of a single inept employee, maybe he took it home for his kids to play with.

if a single employee is not responsible, then where was that bomb kept? where is it now?

[FreeRights]

My original comments were made prior to the story that they apparently attempted to give the pipe bomb back to the person. Although I do not know how accurate the "sources" are, I think that if there is even a thread of truth to it, its reprehensible.

I'd be very interested if, and when, more information about how exactly a screener could come to the conclusion that a pipe bomb is not a threat.

That said, I can begin to understand why the 18 year old passenger was let off so lightly. Despite their best efforts, screening personnel were unable to get him to take a bomb onto a plane.

[Captain Awesome]

Is it illegal to produce explosives?

[FreeRights]

Is it illegal to produce explosives?

Without having an employment reason to do so, probably.

But it's definitely illegal to transport and store said explosives improperly.

[Glacier]

This is funny. The kid makes a pipe bomb with a buddy, then stores it in his bag, forgetting all about it. Then the airport picks it up when he goes through airport security, and all embarrassed, tells them to keep it even though the airport told him he could take on the plane with him. In reality, this story is overblown because the guy would not have blown up anything, and the airport guys knew this. Of course, this is the 21st century, so they should not have told him to take it on the plane.

I like the Edmonton Airport because, unlike the Vancouver airport, they did not violate me with their anal laws.

[my5cents]

This is funny. The kid makes a pipe bomb with a buddy, then stores it in his bag, forgetting all about it. Then the airport picks it up when he goes through airport security, and all embarrassed, tells them to keep it even though the airport told him he could take on the plane with him. In reality, this story is overblown because the guy would not have blown up anything, and the airport guys knew this. Of course, this is the 21st century, so they should not have told him to take it on the plane.

I like the Edmonton Airport because, unlike the Vancouver airport, they did not violate me with their anal laws.

Isn't the point here, that we've all been inconvenienced by these people (airport security) pretending to know what they are doing ? Likely most of us have had to pour our a drink, relinquish nail clippers, a cork screw, knitting needle, sun tan lotion.

None of us would have blown up anything. We were in possession of ie NAIL CLIPPERS, and lost them.

This guy had a BOMB ! and was told initially to keep it.

[Glacier]

Isn't the point here, that we've all been inconvenienced by these people (airport security) pretending to know what they are doing ? Likely most of us have had to pour our a drink, relinquish nail clippers, a cork screw, knitting needle, sun tan lotion.

None of us would have blown up anything. We were in possession of ie NAIL CLIPPERS, and lost them.

This guy had a BOMB ! and was told initially to keep it.

The Deadmonton airport dances to a different tune. Definitely the most lax security I've been through. They let me take my nail clippers and screw drive on the plane... only problem is that come back from YVR, everything was confiscated. I suspect that the reason they told him to keep it (besides the fact he wasn't going to use it) was that they didn't want to involve the police. This was poor judgement on the airport authority's behalf.

[Captain Awesome]

This guy had a BOMB ! and was told initially to keep it.

Pipe bomb isn't a very sophisticated explosive device. If unarmed, it's just a piece of scrap metal.

[Dizzy1]

'nuff said

[my5cents]

Pipe bomb isn't a very sophisticated explosive device. If unarmed, it's just a piece of scrap metal.

No, but neither was the nail clippers they took from me.

[Beerhunter341]

I would have thought that as soon as a bomb was discovered, the entire area would have been locked down. I know that if I had found a device like that I would have immediately backed away and evacuated the area until a bomb expert deemed the area to be safe. *bleep* is wrong with people. I still cannot believe that this happened. And this after all the hassle that so many of us have gone through when it comes to passing through inspections. I remember having my laptop regularly swabbed for residue and if they found anything they sure as hell weren't going to let me board a plane right away!

[Ken7]

I would have thought that as soon as a bomb was discovered, the entire area would have been locked down. I know that if I had found a device like that I would have immediately backed away and evacuated the area until a bomb expert deemed the area to be safe. *bleep* is wrong with people. I still cannot believe that this happened. And this after all the hassle that so many of us have gone through when it comes to passing through inspections. I remember having my laptop regularly swabbed for residue and if they found anything they sure as hell weren't going to let me board a plane right away!

They pay these people $12.50 hr, they are easily replaced and are disposable. Look at them next time your there.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

a number of interesting details in this article.

Alberta man planned to ‘blow up a shed’ with pipe bomb found at EIA security, say court docs

By Erika Tucker Global News

TORONTO – Alberta resident Skylar Murphy was planning to “blow up a shed” with a pipe bomb seized at Edmonton International Airport’s security screening, according to court documents released Thursday.

The transcript of proceedings, which can be read in its entirety below, suggests Murphy had built the pipe bomb with a friend, and put it in his camera bag since they intended to photograph the shed exploding. He forgot that it was inside the bag when packing for his flight to Mexico, and didn’t intend to take it on the airplane or cause damage to the airport when he arrived Sept. 20, according to the documents.

Murphy told court he learned to make a pipe bomb through “research on the Internet” but said he didn’t have any knowledge of how pipe bombs are normally used.

He said he stole the black powder from ammunition in his mother’s house. The ammunition belonged to his mother’s fiancé, who is an Alberta sheriff. According to RCMP, an investigation found that the sheriff “had no knowledge of or role in constructing the device.”

“As the accused stated in court, he took the powder to make the device without the knowledge or consent of the sheriff. The sheriff properly and lawfully stored his firearms and ammunition as per federal law and policies of the sheriff’s branch,” said spokesperson for Alberta Justice and Solicitor General, Michelle Davio, in a written statement.

Murphy got the pipe and screws from the local hardware store. His friend allegedly bought the fuse from another friend, though Murphy said he didn’t have contact with the third person.

Murphy, then 18, was arrested and charged with possession of an explosive substance on Sept. 27, when he returned to the country.

In December, he pleaded guilty to possession of an explosive substance. He was sentenced to one year of probation, and given a $100 fine, plus required to donate $500 to the University of Alberta burn unit.

The judge accepted he had “no intentions on using it while [he] was on the plane or entering another country,” though “incredibly irresponsible.”

“If the authorities had missed that pipe bomb and you had gone, in Mexico, through a screening device, you would not even get a trial, more than likely,” said Judge White, according to the court transcript. “You would be in a Mexican gaol … learning Spanish by now, if you survived. I doubt you would have survived.”

Global News learned Wednesday that an airport security screener who seized the pipe bomb from Murphy gave it back before other screeners stepped in, causing the federal transport minister to blast airport security.

Watch below: Francis Silvaggio reports that no one informed police that a pipe bomb was found until four days later.

Murphy was allowed to board his flight, and it wasn’t until four days later that the RCMP was called in to investigate.

Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt said Wednesday that should not have happened and that she would be following up with the president of CATSA to ensure airport safety.

Global News spoke with a person who saw the situation unfold at EIA on Wednesday night. The person, who has asked to remain anonymous, says the pipe bomb was clearly visible on the X-ray machine. According to this source, the screener searched the bag, but gave it back to Murphy. It wasn’t until other screeners stepped in that the device was confiscated.

Michael Kempa, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, says he was “stunned” over how the situation was handled.

“Canadians have heard a lot about how poorly the Americans look at our security apparatus…Incidents like this just diminish us in the eyes of the world,” he said.

“It’s basically like a black eye on the Canadian security system —and it’s one that we should be prepared to deal with quickly and demonstrate to our partners that we are taking it seriously.”

full article contains link to court document
http://globalnews.ca/news/1087813/suspe ... ourt-docs/