Sir! You seem to have a pipe bomb. Please take it with you on to the plane.

[sdifox]

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/0...arrested-until-return-to-canada-a-week-later/

Incredible new details have emerged about a frightening security incident at Edmonton Airport in which a teenager was allowed to board his flight after being caught with a pipe bomb by security staff.

In a bizarre twist, sources now claim a video of incident shows officers with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority trying to give the explosive device back to him, the Edmonton Journal reports.
A source told the Journal there is a video of security officials flagging the device — described as a “a six-inch steel pipe containing gunpowder with 4 ½ feet of fuse from either end” — then attempting to give it back to 18-year-old Skylar Murphy.

The source, who has seen a video of the incident, said security officers can be seen pushing the device back to Murphy in an attempt to return it to him. According to reports, an officer told Murphy “You can keep it.”

Murphy insisted he did not want the device and eventually proceeded through security without it on his way to a one-week family vacation in Mexico. Transport Minister Lisa Raitt last night slammed CATSA after it was revealed they allowed Murphy to board his flight — and then didn’t call the RCMP until four days later.
“The safety of Canadians and the traveling public is our government’s top priority. This individual should not have been allowed to board his flight, and it is unacceptable that CATSA waited four days before seeking the RCMP’s assistance,” Raitt said.

A CATSA spokesperson said a review was undertaken last fall and those involved in the incident were disciplined.
“Corrective actions have been taken and those involved in the incident were disciplined and required to take additional training,” Mathieu Larocque said in an email to the Post. “We understand the Minister’s concerns and direction. The security of the traveling public is CATSA’s top priority.
“During the course of its review, CATSA concluded that the RCMP should have been contacted earlier in the process as per our procedures. We have also updated screening officers’ training material across the country and put more emphasis on our procedures.”
Murphy of Spruce Grove, Alta. had the bomb confiscated by security officials last fall, but CATSA is refusing to say why it allowed the teen to carry on with his flight after discovering the explosive device.

“I will be calling the President of CATSA today to ensure the organization takes further action to better protect the safety of Canadian travelers,” Raitt said Wednesday.

Murphy was arrested and charged on Sept. 27, 2013 with possession of an explosive substance when he returned to Canada after a trip out of the country — a week after CATSA officers discovered the bomb.
Court documents describe the seized items from his luggage as black powder and a pipe bomb.
Officials with CATSA, who aren’t allowed to arrest or hold passengers, are supposed to call police if something illegal is found. However, in this case, CATSA did not notify the RCMP until Sept. 24, 2013, four days after discovering the device.

In an initial email to the National Post, CATSA sidestepped many of questions the incident raised and refused to get into specifics.
“For security reasons, we can’t get into details about specific procedures, which include our protocols with the police,” Larocque said.
“The item in question was discovered during normal pre-board screening of the passenger and his belongings.”
Sgt. Josée Valiquette, spokesperson for the Alberta RCMP, said that the definition of a pipe bomb is “delicate.”
“It’s homemade and everyone has a different definition,” she said.

Murphy pleaded guilty in December to the charge and was given one year of probation and a $100 fine. He is also prohibited from possessing explosives or ammunition for a year and must donate $500 to the University of Alberta burn unit.
The RCMP called the event an “isolated incident” and said no other individuals were involved.
“The RCMP took all necessary investigational steps to ensure the safety of Canadians,” Valiquette said.
Murphy did not respond to a request for comment from the Post.


-----

TSA is apparently going ape shit about this since the kid flew over USA on his way to Mexico.

 

[PottedMeat]

Sgt. Josée Valiquette, spokesperson for the Alberta RCMP, said that the definition of a pipe bomb is “delicate.”
“It’s homemade and everyone has a different definition,” she said.

A source told the Journal there is a video of security officials flagging the device — described as a “a six-inch steel pipe containing gunpowder with 4 ½ feet of fuse from either end” — then attempting to give it back to 18-year-old Skylar Murphy.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS COULD BE


caps

 

[DrPizza]

Murphy pleaded guilty in December to the charge and was given one year of probation and a $100 fine. He is also prohibited from possessing explosives or ammunition for a year and must donate $500 to the University of Alberta burn unit.

Wow. Odd to see a judicial system that helps out the public vs. "give the gov't more money!"

TSA is apparently going ape shit about this since the kid flew over USA on his way to Mexico.

Link? Or was that part a joke?

 

[sdifox]

Wow. Odd to see a judicial system that helps out the public vs. "give the gov't more money!"


Link? Or was that part a joke?

The TSA going ape shit part I heard on the radio. Let me see if I can find source on CBC since I heard it on their morning program.


edit:didn't see anything on CBC web site.

 

[Jeffg010]

Officers with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority must have smoked some of that Canadian weed.

 

[sdifox]

Officers with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority must have smoked some of that Canadian weed.

Contractors with no arrest power. But I am surprised they didn't just call RCMP and hand him over to RCMP.

 

[Ken g6]

Officers with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority must have smoked some of that Canadian weed.

Guess I'll have to watch my fellow passengers carefully next time I fly out of Denver.

 

[SSSnail]

Canadians, they aren't too bright up there. Is the kid white? I wonder if he'd be detained and sent to the north pole had he been something else.

 

[nehalem256]

Murphy insisted he did not want the device and eventually proceeded through security without it on his way to a one-week family vacation in Mexico

I really don't want the pipebomb. I just brought it to the airport with me

 

[Jaskalas]

Murphy pleaded guilty in December to the charge and was given one year of probation and a $100 fine. He is also prohibited from possessing explosives or ammunition for a year and must donate $500 to the University of Alberta burn unit.

Wow. Odd to see a judicial system that helps out the public vs. "give the gov't more money!"

That's the part that caught me as well. Freaking amazing to see a system not hell bent on ending the rest of the kid's life.

 

[Anubis]

I really don't want the pipebomb. I just brought it to the airport with me

yea this is very confusing

 

[sdifox]

I really don't want the pipebomb. I just brought it to the airport with me

probably used the same backpack as usual and forgot to empty it first.

 

[nehalem256]

That's the part that caught me as well. Freaking amazing to see a system not hell bent on ending the rest of the kid's life.

Building a pipebomb and taking it to an airport is just a silly teen mistake. Something I am sure we have all done :awe:

 

[Colt45]

What were they supposed to do? You accidentally bring one pipe bomb to the airport, and you can never fly again? :awe:

 

[JamesV]

That's the part that caught me as well. Freaking amazing to see a system not hell bent on ending the rest of the kid's life.

That's what I thought at first; here he would be labeled a terrorist and the whole thing would be fodder for the news and we'd never stop hearing about it, til after he got a 20 year sentence.

But... why the hell would he bring a pipe bomb to an airport? Has he been under a rock the last 10 years, or did he have some plan in mind? If you make a pipe bomb, you are planning on blowing it up; where was he planning on blowing it up?

 

[Pardus]

http://www.vulcanadvocate.com/2014/01/15/man-with-pipe-bomb-allowed-on-flight-out-of-edmonton-report

 

[Fingolfin269]

The TSA released this statement...

"Don't worry Canada, help is on the way."

 

[DaveSimmons]

The TSA released this statement...

"Don't worry Canada, help is on the way."

Yep, our boys will keep the peace in newly annexed Canada....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dquq8DABdw8

War on terror. War on terror never changes.

 

[alkemyst]

Go home Canada, you're drunk!

 

[Pray To Jesus]

That's what I thought at first; here he would be labeled a terrorist and the whole thing would be fodder for the news and we'd never stop hearing about it, til after he got a 20 year sentence.

But... why the hell would he bring a pipe bomb to an airport? Has he been under a rock the last 10 years, or did he have some plan in mind? If you make a pipe bomb, you are planning on blowing it up; where was he planning on blowing it up?

It's like Legos [sic], except it gives a better, more explosive, fun.

It's Canada so there are a lot of places to blow it up.

He put it in backpack to show friends and forgot it was in there. LoL!

 

[sdifox]

ahahaha, apparently the supervisor tested it for drugs, but not for explosives.

After they kept the bomb, they left it in a plastic bin, in plain sight of passengers being screened, for the rest of the day. And did not call RCMP til 4 days later.

Me thinks supervisor should be fired. What is the point of rules and procedures if you don't follow them?


lifted from CBC

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...t-security-personnel-ignored-danger-1.2500071

---

Even after airport security in Edmonton realized a potentially dangerous pipe bomb had been seized from a departing passenger, they did not immediately call the RCMP, inexplicably ignoring the most basic safety and security protocols, sources with direct knowledge of the incident told CBC News.
The security personnel also did not follow protocol when they removed the steel pipe bomb, with its nearly three-metre-long fuse, from an X-ray machine instead of immediately shutting down the machine, triggering an alarm, calling in a nearby RCMP officer and securing the public’s safety.
Instead, a security guard, apparently not realizing it was a pipe bomb, offered to return it to the teenage passenger who had inadvertently carried it into the screening area in a camera bag. He declined to take it and was allowed to board a flight to Mexico with his family on Sept. 20, 2013.
“The gentleman should have been arrested on site,” said one of the security guards, who spoke with CBC News on condition of anonymity. “But the police had no idea this was going on, and they were never called.”


Security personnel placed the pipe bomb in a so-called “forfeit” bin along with seized items such as scissors and toothpaste. Sources tell CBC News that many security staff saw the pipe bomb. One security guard who saw the device said it was obviously a pipe bomb.
“People don't carry a lead pipe with two caps on each end around with them,” the guard said. “I mean, it is the perfect picture of what a pipe bomb looks like. And that is what triggered me, when I saw it. It was so realistic that it scared me."

Sources in Ottawa told CBC News that Murphy arrived at the airport with the pipe bomb wrapped in a bag from a "head shop" that sells drug paraphernalia. The bag had pictures of marijuana leaves on it. The wrapped bomb was inside the camera bag.
After the pipe bomb was caught by the scanner, the security screener looked at the images on the bag and assumed the pipe bomb was some kind of drug pipe. The inspector then swabbed the pipe bomb for drugs, but not for gunpowder. It tested negative for drugs.
Souces say the pipe bomb was reported the same day to the management of Garda, the security firm hired by the Canadian Transport Security Authority (CATSA) to screen passengers at Edmonton International Airport.
Despite this, the pipe bomb sat in an office for four days, until Sept. 24, when it was finally noticed by a CATSA official who called the RCMP. The Mounties arrested 18-year-old Skylar Murphy from Spruce Grove, Alta., when he returned from Mexico on Sept. 27.
Murphy pleaded guilty to possession of an explosive device and was given a one-year suspended sentence, a $100 fine, and ordered to make a $500 donation to a burn unit.
When contacted by CBC News, Murphy sought $600 for an interview, saying he wanted the money to pay the fine and the donation. CBC declined to pay and no interview was granted.


In emailed statements to CBC News, CATSA said an internal review was conducted, changes were made to ensure this type of security failure could not happen again, and employees were disciplined, including being suspended.
But the guard who spoke with CBC News on condition of anonymity said only minor changes have been made to security protocols, and the operator of the scanning machine, and others who were directly involved with the pipe bomb on that day, were working as recently as this week.
These latest revelations raise yet more troubling questions about not only the safety of Canada’s airport-security screening system, but also about how the incident was handled both by the agency responsible for airport security, the federal government, the RCMP and Alberta Justice.
According to a transcript of Murphy’s court case, the RCMP believed the teenager’s story that he didn’t intend to blow up an airplane because of his “shocked reaction” when security screeners discovered the device.
The RCMP based this belief on surveillance video from the airport.
“I didn’t view [the video] but [RCMP investigating officer] Const. [Jim] Kirkpatrick described to me, he said it was obvious on the surveillance video, when the object was pulled out of his bag, the shocked reaction he had,” Crown prosecutor Trent Wilson told the court at Murphy’s hearing on Dec. 5.


The court also heard testimony from the teenager that he obtained the gunpowder by stealing bullets from his mother’s fiancé, an Alberta sheriff. Alberta Justice issued a release saying RCMP had investigated the matter and found the sheriff’s weapon and ammunition had been properly stored.
Court transcripts reveal that another reason RCMP believed Murphy did not intend to harm anyone was that he returned from the vacation onSept. 27, when he was arrested by a large number of uniformed officers, a SWAT team and bomb-sniffing dogs.
The transcript shows he and a friend built the pipe bomb because they intended to blow up a shed for fun.
“Mr. Murphy also said he wanted to photograph the shed when he blew it up and that was why he had the bomb inside of his camera bag,” the prosecutor told the court.
“When Mr. Murphy packed for his flight he placed his camera bag inside his carry-on duffel bag. He emphatically denied that his intent was to cause damage to the airport or any aircraft. He claimed that he forgot the pipe bomb was inside his camera bag and he did not intend to try to take it on the airplane.”
The court transcript describes how the explosive device was discovered at the airport.
“An object, which was later confirmed by the RCMP explosive disposal unit members to be a fully functional pipe bomb was first identified by an employee conducting an X-ray inspection of Murphy’s bag,” the prosecutor said.
Murphy confirmed he was the owner of the bag.
“Items were taken out of the bag in front of Mr. Murphy,” the prosecutor said “The object was inside a small cloth bag and was made out of a five and a half inch long metal pipe with two threaded end caps. One end of the pipe had a fuse sticking out of it that measured over nine-feet long. The pipe was filled with black powder.
“The pipe bomb was not given back to Mr. Murphy and he was allowed to board his flight to Mexico,” the prosecutor told the court. The transcript makes no reference to the security screener attempting to return the pipe bomb to Murphy.
The prosecutor asked the judge to impose a one-year, suspended sentence to a guilty plea of being in possession of an explosive device, which the judge granted.
Several American security experts told CBC News they were shocked Murphy wasn’t charged with a much more serious offence and jailed.
In sentencing Murphy, the judge scolded the teenager for stealing from his mother’s fiancé and for his bad judgment in producing such a dangerous device.
“Pipe bombs are used to kill people, to destroy property, they are used in war, they are used by terrorists, they are used by individuals who are in conflict, and they are very successful at killing people,” the judge told Murphy.
The judge also told Murphy that had he carried the pipe bomb to Mexico, he might have been facing a different fate.
“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,” the judge said. “You would be in a Mexican jail and your grandfather and your family would be visiting you in that jail. And you would probably be learning Spanish by now, if you survived. I doubt you would have survived.”
The security guard who spoke to CBC said media coverage of the security failure has undermined public confidence in the screening system.
“We have got passengers coming up to us and harassing us now [saying], ‘Why are you searching my stuff or why are you taking my liquids away? I mean you guys let a pipe bomb go,’” the guard said.