According to the Boston Herald:
"Headline: Luggage that left from Logan explodes in Fla."
First off, bravo to the Boston Herald: their incredibly misleading and sensationalist headline got them the top spot on Google News, which is where I spotted it.
Next, a big raspberry to the Boston Herald: their headline makes it sound like a terrorist cell's bomb went off on a plane in Florida; their article makes it clear this is not the case... but then skimps on the details.
The first line of the story gets even more confusing:
"A man attempting to fly a bag filled with hundreds of bullet primers from Boston to Jamaica was thwarted when a baggage handler slammed his luggage on the tarmac in Miami and detonated the minuscule explosive wafers, the FBI said."
The first part sounds like a bad urban legend or a Darwin Award entry: did you hear the one about the guy who tried to fly on a bag filled with hundreds of bullet primers? He was thwarted (thwarted? Really? That's the word you want to go with here? What, did he twirl his mustachios and cry, "Drat!"?) when a baggage handler "slammed his luggage on the tarmac."
Yeah, you read that right. That guy who broke the suitcase you were assured was gorilla-proof? He's just been made a national hero for slamming that bag. Way to scare anyone out of ever checking their luggage again, Boston Herald.
But just in case you thought anyone might have been hurt, turns out they were miniscule explosive wafers.
Like, you know, mini cayenne-flavored Nilla Wafers.
Pop, pop.
You know what else goes pop? Boston Herald journalism, when you poke it with some facts.
12.29.2010
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According to CNN,
The unidentified passenger, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was bound for Jamaica, was charged with transportation of hazardous materials. If convicted, he could face a sentence of up to five years.
But, according to the hazmat regulations for airline luggage, transportation of ammo is permitted:
§ 175.10 Exceptions for passengers, crewmembers, and air operators...(8) Small arms ammunition for personal use carried by a crewmember or passenger in checked baggage only, if securely packed in boxes or other packagings specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition. Ammunition clips and magazines must also be securely boxed. This paragraph does not apply to persons traveling under the provisions of 49 CFR 1544.219.
Sounds like a lot is going to depend on how the primers were packaged in the luggage.
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