Sunwing pilot's 'misunderstanding' caused bomb scare near Toronto's Pearson airport

A SunwingAirlines pilot's "misunderstanding" set offa massive emergency response to a bomb threat near Pearson International Airport that forced the evacuation of two buildings and the dispatchof Toronto police's Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive Unit an elite team that responds to suspectedacts of terrorism.

Shortly after 9a.m. on Sunday, Nov.13, 2016, Toronto police received an emergency call after a Sunwing pilot discovered what he feared might be some sort of explosive device stuffed into his internal company mailbox.

When CBC Toronto called Sunwing about the incident, an employee who would only identify himself as Matthew described the device as "an antique radio battery." He said it was left for the pilot by one of his colleagues in what another employee described as a "joke."

The unidentified employee said the pilot thought "it would be cool" to put the battery in a colleague's mailbox.

Two large industrial buildings used by hundreds of Sunwingemployees on Fasken Drive, near Pearson airport, had to be evacuated as police cordoned off the area. Toronto police also called in their CBRN unit essentially a group of officers trained to deal with chemical, nuclear or bomb threats. Eventually, those officers determined the device wasn't a threat.

At the time of the November incident atSunwing'sToronto offices, there was no mentionSunwingemployees were involved.

'This was a misunderstanding'

In an emailed statement to CBC Toronto, Janine Massey of Sunwing said: "We can confirm that on Nov. 13 one of our pilots arrived at the Sunwing Airlines office and found an old radio battery in his mailbox. As he didn't recognize it and there was no note attached to it, he escalated the matter out of an abundance of caution.

"The authorities were notified, and in the interests of public safety, they dispatched their unit which handles hazardous materials and explosives. After investigating the scene, they were satisfied that this was the result of a misunderstanding between the pilot who left the battery and the pilot who found it."

Masseydeclined to answer if the pilot who left the device did so as a joke, or if the pilot has been disciplined.

It's not clear how much the significant police response cost. Const. Caroline de Kloet, spokeswoman for the Toronto Police Service, confirmed the incident occurred, saying:"but no charges were laid. The complainant did not want to press charges."

• Pilot charged with being impaired was 3 times the legal limit, say Calgary police

While there's no indication the incident was an act of malice, it's another bizarre situation involving the airline's pilots. Last weekend, Calgary police said Sunwing pilot MiroslavGronychboardedaSunwingAirlines 737-800 series aircraft shortly before 7 a.m. local time on Saturday while under the influence of alcohol.

Hewas arrested on Saturday and charged withhaving care and control of an aircraft while impairedand having care and control of an aircraft with a blood alcohol level over .08.

The planewas scheduled to make stops in Regina and Winnipeg before continuing on to Cancun, Mexico. Ithad99 passengers and six crew members on board.

Members of the flight crew noticedthe pilotwas behaving oddly beforehepassed out in the cockpit, according to police.

Calgary incident leads to federal concern

The Calgary incident has promptedFederal Transport Minister MarcGarneauto write a letterto all commercial air carriers, askingthe airlines toget in touch withTransport Canada to outline and confirm their safety protocols by Feb. 15.

"The incident in Calgary reminds us all of the need to ensure that protocols are up to date and that they are beingimplementedwith all the requiredresources, including measures designed to confirm pilots' fitness to fly,"Garneauwrote.

He also said in the letter thatTransport Canada is also planning aworkshopinearly spring where airlines,unions and medical experts can get together to"consider further steps necessary to enhance aviation safety."