Dynamite found in luggage at Houston airport

Houston, Aug 26: A U.S. college student who said he bought dynamite as a souvenir in Bolivia was arrested on Friday when a bomb-sniffing dog found the substance in his luggage after he arrived at the Houston airport from Buenos Aires.

Howard McFarland Fish, 21, was charged with carrying an explosive aboard an aircraft and was being held without bail, pending a hearing in federal court on Monday.

He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, said a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Houston.

Authorities said Fish, who attends college in Pennsylvania and lives in Connecticut, was not suspected of any terrorist connections, but that a small stick of dynamite and some other suspicious items were found in his baggage.

In Buenos Aires, Marcelo Sain, head of Argentina's Airport Security Police, told local TV that authorities found "a Coca Cola bottle with mud, and inside it was a tube with ammonium nitrate, a little bit of dynamite and a detonator."

Mark Mancuso, deputy director for public safety at Houston airports, said Fish told authorities the items were souvenirs purchased at a mine in Bolivia.

The flight was Continental Airlines Flight 52, which was searched in Houston and again as a precaution on arrival in Newark, New Jersey.

Series of scares

It was the latest in a series of scares - at least three of them on Friday - since police in Britain uncovered a suspected plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners this month.

Since then security has been tightened at airports and passengers have been jittery.

Also on Friday, American Airlines flight 55 carrying 179 people from Manchester, England, to Chicago was diverted to Bangor, Maine, because of unspecified security concerns. The plane landed safely.

A U.S. security official said no charges were expected to be made in the Bangor incident.

US Airways Flight 146 from Phoenix to Charlotte on Friday was diverted to Oklahoma City after a passenger had a confrontation with a flight attendant, the airline said.
"We're not taking any chances," said Valerie Wunder, a spokeswoman for US Airways. "We'd rather have the pilot or the air marshal make a call" to divert a flight than have an incident with broader implications.

In a statement the Air Transport Association said: "Decisions to divert aircraft for security reasons are made for a wide variety of reasons. While the reasons for these decisions will vary, the common factor is the overarching importance of assuring the safety of our passengers and crews."

Reuters