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Dad's remains cause evacuation at Indy airport PDF Print E-mail
Written by DeadGirl   
Sunday, 07 October 2007
Response to improper screening of ashes in passenger's carry-on bag delays 8 flights
By Will Higgins

People fly on airplanes with cremated human remains more often than you might think. "Maybe not every day, but at least every week," says Rene Harris, a customer service official with the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA has a detailed protocol under "Traveling With Crematory Remains," within the larger category of "Transporting the Deceased." The deceased can be carried on or checked through.
But Friday morning at Indianapolis International Airport, the system broke down as a man attempted to carry on his father's ashes. The result: About 500 people were evacuated from Concourses B and C for more than an hour, and eight flights were delayed.

Neither TSA officials nor airport police would discuss details of the incident, but a police report said a man passed through the checkpoint shortly before 6 a.m. without being screened properly.

Technically, it was the man's carry-on -- his father's ashes -- that hadn't been properly screened. According to the police report, TSA X-ray screener Lyle Harper pulled the remains aside after seeing a "dark image." TSA bag checker Brad Eastman then did an explosive-trace detection test on them. The results were negative.

"Eastman spoke to the owner of the urn and learned that the urn was the passenger's father," the report says. "Eastman was satisfied with the urn and bag and allowed the passenger and bag to go down the concourse."

Moments after the man was sent on his way, Eastman told Harper he hadn't put the urn through a second X-ray screening. Eastman alerted his supervisor, Sean Wilson, and the checkpoint was shut down.

Despite the urn owner's unusual appearance -- he wore a red shirt and pink hat and carried the ashes in a box inside a garbage bag -- airport officials could not find him.

Next came the mass evacuation, made "out of an abundance of caution," according to a statement released by Lara Uselding, a TSA spokeswoman.
The evacuees went through security screening again, and the concourses reopened.

The incident caused eight flights to be delayed, affecting nearly 700 passengers, said Susan Sullivan, an airport spokeswoman. No flights were canceled, she said.

Officials declined to say what kind of container was being used to hold the ashes.

"We understand how painful losing a loved one is," the TSA protocol states, "and we respect anyone traveling with crematory remains." But "if the container is made of a material that generates an opaque image and prevents the security screener from clearly being able to see what is inside, then the container cannot be allowed through the security checkpoint."

Regardless of the vessel, no peeking is allowed, according to TSA protocol: "Out of respect to the deceased and their family and friends, under no circumstances will a screener open the container even if the passenger requests this be done."

Uselding said TSA staffers "made a mistake" and would receive a "refresher" on protocol regarding crematory remains, but that none would lose his or her job as a result of the incident.

It was the second incident involving TSA officials in eight days that caused flight delays at the airport. Last week, Concourse D was evacuated after a passenger discovered what looked like a bomb near a security checkpoint. It was found to be an apparatus mistakenly left behind by a TSA officer after a training exercise.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071006/LOCAL/710060520
 
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