FT. Wayne Airport Closed

FNC | 8/18/04 | FNC

[Trust but Verify]

That's what happened when Greg Brady put itching powder in Marcia's sleepover friends' sleeping bags!

[OldFriend]

It is not unusual to miss the connecting flight. The luggage is usually tagged for the final location and may well get there separte from the passenger.

[laishly]

"It is not unusual to miss the connecting flight. The luggage is usually tagged for the final location and may well get there separte from the passenger."

Actually the airline is supposed to make sure everyone ticketed through to another destination reboards after the layover. If anyone fails to reboard, no matter the reason, their supposed to remove their luggage before taking off.

[boxerblues]

That be what is suppose to happen it doesn't. My son was one flight, his luggage ended up on another flight but ended up at its final destination before he did. He called us to tell they lost his luggage, when he went to the claims office they had it waiting for him. They told him it got redirected on another flight because of the weight.

[JudyinCanada]

Hey, I thought "no unaccompanied bags" was the law. Hillery flys alone.

[JudyinCanada]

Sorry, make that "flies", although flys fits in as well.

[prairiebreeze]

Six people undergoing decontamination just reported on FoxNews.

How in the Sam Hill does a bag get on without the passenger?? Sheesh, multiple heads should roll.

Prairie

[boxerblues]

Thats a insult to flys everywhere.

[OldFriend]

Doesn't work that way.

[OXENinFLA]

I was shocked last week when I picked my brother up from the airport and he didn't have to show his baggage ticket stub to anyone before we walked out with his luggage...

Normally you have to show your stub to prove that it's your bags..

[OldFriend]

Please wait for all the info before you lop off someone's head.

[Cboldt]

How in the Sam Hill does a bag get on without the passenger?

Per person bag match (PPBM) is only one tool of several to keep bombs from getting on planes. I'd like to read the article or other citation that leads people to conclude that PPBM is -always- supposed to be performed, including on connecting flights.

[michigander]

Six people undergoing decontamination

Associated Press
August 18, 2004

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- A substance spilled from a bag being unloaded today at the Fort Wayne International Airport, causing at least one worker to report feeling ill and prompting authorities to close the airport.

Six people were undergoing decontamination at the airport, Fort Wayne television station WPTA reported. It was not immediately clear whether any passengers were among those decontaminated.

The substance was not immediately identified, said FBI special agent Wendy Osborne, a spokeswoman for the agency's Indianapolis office.

Tory Richardson, the airport's executive director, said tests were continuing.

"Some field analysis has been conducted on the substance, but the initial test was inconclusive," Richardson said.

The substance spilled as the bag was being unloaded about 2 a.m. from an American Eagle flight from Chicago, airport spokeswoman Sandra Lux said. The bag belonged to a doctor from Lebanon who was not on the flight, she said.

Richardson said the doctor apparently flew into the country on Tuesday and that authorities were attempting to contact him.

Osborne said FBI investigators knew who owned the bag containing the substance, but would not confirm that it belonged to a Lebanese doctor.

"I can't talk about that yet," she said.

One airport worker became ill after coming in contact with the substance and two others complained of severe itching, Lux told the television station.

The airport terminal was shut down and all flights were delayed after incident, Lux said.

[Cboldt]

Actually the airline is supposed to make sure everyone ticketed through to another destination reboards after the layover. If anyone fails to reboard, no matter the reason, their supposed to remove their luggage before taking off.

Do you have a citation for that?

[Cboldt]

Hey, I thought 'no unaccompanied bags' was the LAW.?

I'm doing a bit of research. I haven't found anthing recent, but here is an older artcile (btw, PPBM means per-person-bag-match. That practice IS used at Washington's Reagan National airport):

All U.S. airlines began PPBM Jan. 18, 2002, for originating passengers. But the omission of connecting passengers was widely publicized and sharply criticized, as in this commentary in the April 20, 2002, edition of The Economist magazine ...

Air Safety Week: Despite Risk, Terrorists Feared Less Than Security Measures <-- Link

[PilloryHillary]

There is nothing that can help Kerry now. He's burned toast. I'd like to believe you, but there is always a chance that a liar can be elected president. Remember Clinton? I think Kerry's toast....but what matters is how people vote in November.

[Dog Gone]

We can't rule out the possibility that the workers saw or touched the powder and reacted psychosomatically.

[jriemer]

The substance spilled as the bag was being unloaded about 2 a.m. from an American Eagle flight from Chicago, airport spokeswoman Sandra Lux said. The bag belonged to a doctor from Lebanon who was not on the flight, she said.

The event happened at +7 hours ago at a public airport and "who" part of this story is still not clear.

Also, this is not the only "problem flight" associated with ORD in the last few days.
Chicago-Bound Plane From D.C. Evacuated - 8/15

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

We can't rule out the possibility that the workers saw or touched the powder and reacted psychosomatically.

That's what I was thinking because that's exactly what I would have done, lol! I'm a major hypochondriac. I hear about a disease for the first time and then I mysteriously come down with its symptoms! LOL

[BureaucratusMaximus]

In case your wondering why Ft Wayne might be a target we have a couple of defence contractors here that make several items used daily in the military. (SINCGAR radio's and Sonobouys)

Actually...to think it through a little further...If I was a terrorist wanting to transport/deliver bio-chem or anything else to a major metro area (Chicago is less than 100 miles away from Ft Wayne) I would attempt or probe a one-horse town (no offense) airport like Ft. Wayne to transport my material. One would think security would not be as tight when not dealing with a major metro-area airport like O'Hare.