Man held at Houston Airport in dynamite scare

HOUSTON - An American suspected of flying from Buenos Aires with dynamite in his luggage was detained by FBI officials in Houston after bomb-sniffing dogs picked up a scent in his luggage today.

The FBI said he was a college student who carried what appeared to be a small stick of dynamite. The man was detained for questioning in the customs area of the Houston airport.

"Sometimes there is a good explanation for why something is brought in, but he may still be charged for bringing explosives onto an aircraft, which is against the law," said FBI Special Agent Shauna Dunlap.

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

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 US-bound airliners this month.

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

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 the man told authorities the items were souvenirs purchased at a mine in Bolivia.

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 US 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