ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- An explosive device that closed part of the Anchorage, Alaska, airport, after it was found in luggage, was legitimately for avalanche control, authorities said.
The device was discovered Sunday at Ted Stevens International Airport in the carry-on baggage of an unidentified passenger headed for the state's North Slope oil fields. A statement by oil company ConocoPhillips Alaska said "the item in question was a device typically used for avalanche control, and that there was no ill will intended" in bringing it aboard the plane.
Screeners discovered the device, first described as a pipe bomb, Sunday afternoon. Police detained the passenger, who was later questioned by the FBI. Officers closed down the airport's screening area for an hour, the Anchorage Daily News reported Tuesday, adding the device was never brought aboard the aircraft.
