E-CIGARETTE CAUSES SMOKING-SUITCASE SCARE AT BOSTON’S LOGAN AIRPORT
A section of Boston Logan International Airport was evacuated for a nearly an hour on Nov. 24 after an e-cigarette ignited in a full-size wheeled suitcase, causing the luggage to smoke and triggering a scare.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials spotted the suspicious sight during screening, Boston.com reported, and quickly moved to clear the area.
Upon investigation, emergency responders from the Massachusetts Port Fire & Rescue, Massachusetts State Police and Explosives Ordnance Detection team found that the fumes were not coming from an explosive device, but in fact a lithium battery in an e-cigarette that ignited, TSA officials confirmed in a press release issued on Nov. 28.
TSA Public Affairs spokesperson Lisa Farbstein shared a six-second video clip featuring footage of the smoking suitcase to Twitter, where it has since been viewed well over 5,000 times.
The passenger who owned the suitcase was immediately contacted by security officials and his flight to Kansas City International Airport was delayed until the situation was resolved.
“The incident took place during the record-setting Thanksgiving travel period, when TSA at Boston Logan International Airport screened 56,686 passengers plus their checked and carry-on bags,” the TSA reported in the release.
“TSA is focused on ensuring that nothing catastrophic occurs on an airplane and so, of course, a suitcase that has smoke emitting from it is definitely suspicious.”