Review of airport pipe bomb scare says better training needed

Screeners at the Edmonton airport failed to identify,intercept and handle a pipe bomb in "the manner expected"byCanada's air security authority, says an internal review.

Several personnel had feelings with varying degrees ofconviction that the item discovered in a teenager's carryonbaggage might be a pipe bomb or some other kind of improvisedexplosive device, the newly disclosed review found.

However, because a Canadian Air Transport Security Authoritymanager believed the item was simply drugparaphernalia, no oneacted fully on the suspicions, and the police were notcalled untilseveral days later.

"Despite the best efforts of a competent, dedicated, and diversegroup of screening personnel, CATSA failed to identify apipebomb/IED," the report says.

"This incident has provided an excellent opportunity for CATSA to self-examine, learn and grow."

Multiple recommendations

The air security authority's report on the September 2013episode, completed last November, was obtained Thursday byTheCanadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

The review recommended improvements to training, searchtechniques, decision-making and clarity of employee roles.

Skylar Murphy, who had built the pipe bomb with a friend fortheir own amusement, inadvertently left the device in acamera bagand forgot about it.

Murphy, of Spruce Grove, Alta., was 19 when he pleaded guiltylast December to possession of an explosive device. Hewas sentencedto one year probation, fined $100 and ordered to make an in-persondonation of $500 to the University of Alberta Hospital's burn unit.

In the early morning of Sept. 20, an X-ray operator at theairport noted an unusual, barbell-shaped metallic object andrequested a physical search, the report says.

A screening officer found the approximately six-inch metal pipe which had end caps and was wrapped in wire in acloth bag markedwith a smoke shop insignia.

The screening officer was "unsure whether or not the item waspermitted" and consulted a checkpoint manager who, based on a "very quick visual check," decided it could be takenthroughsecurity, the review says.

The officer then tried to return the item to the passenger, who had become nervous during the screening process, indicated the itemwas not his, and ultimately forfeited it to theofficer.

Pipe bomb sat in office over weekend

Several hours later the item was examined by other screeningofficers who felt it could be a bomb and revisited the issuewiththe checkpoint manager. The manager unscrewed one end and dumped outsome of the flaky contents into a garbage can, but "remainedconvinced" the item was drug-related.

The item sat in an office over the weekend until, after furtherreflection, the air authority contacted the RCMP.

"Although screening officers in Edmonton ultimately prevented aviable pipe bomb from being introduced onto an aircraft,the itemwas not identified, intercepted, or handled in the manner expectedby CATSA," the report says.

The screening officer who searched the bag told the reviewersthat "alarm bells" were going off inside his head when hefirstfound the item, and that he got "bad vibes" from the situation.

"However, he did not follow his gut instinct, and ratherdeferred to the (checkpoint manager)."

More than one employee was suspended and received mandatoryretraining, air security authority spokesman MathieuLarocque saidThursday. He declined to provide further details.

After the incident, the air authority distributed relevant bulletins to screeners, and modified training materials with a"stronger emphasis on detecting potential explosive devices" and the proper protocol to follow in the event one is found.

The agency also moved to ensure screening officers have time to analyze travellers' items and make the proper call, Larocque added.

"The idea is to give the screening officer all the confidencethat they need to make these decisions."