Water bottle triggers evacuation at Tri-State Airport, official says

CEREDO — Tri-State Airport was evacuated around 11:30 a.m. today after a passenger’s water bottle screened positive for a possible explosive material, according to officials with the Transportation Security Administration in Washington, D.C.

Those federal officials tell The Herald-Dispatch that the water bottle first screened positive for what could be an explosive material at 9:15 a.m. That test was then confirmed at 11:25 a.m. by a TSA explosive detection K-9 team based outside of Huntington. Federal officials believe that team was based out of Charleston.

Beckie McKinley, marketing director for the airport, said the passenger was on a morning U.S. Airways flight to Charlotte, N.C.
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At 11:25 a.m. the airport was then evacuated.

TSA officials tell The Herald-Dispatch that a local explosive ordnance detection team is on its way to Tri-State Airport to handle the situation. The airport will then be re-opened once that team clears the situation.

TSA officials say at least one flight has been held from taking off, but no specifics have been released regarding that flight.

Also, TSA officials do not know how many flights or passengers are being affected by the evacuation, but they estimate that number is less than 50 passengers.

David Swenny, assistant airport director at Yeager Airport, said his Charleston airport has not received any diversions as of yet.

Gov. Joe Manchin’s office has also been notified of the situation, and those officials are referring all calls to TSA and the state’s Department of Military Affairs.

“There is a situation there, and it appears that all of our protective measures in place have done their job,” said Joe Thornton, deputy secretary for the Department of Military Affairs.

The Huntington detachment of the West Virginia State Police is leading the response, and their officials say a telephone line is being established so more information can be released.

The general aviation building, which sits next to the main terminal, was not evacuated, the receptionist said. It was not immediately clear when Airport Road and the main terminal will be re-opened or what the cause was for the temporary closure.

Travelers have been moved from the parking lot to the general aviation terminal, located beside the main terminal.

“I just want to get home,” said Will Watkins, 26, who waited with a brace on his leg. He fell between two barges Wednesday while working on the Ohio River near Catlettsburg. He tore ligaments in his leg and was trying to catch a flight home to New Orleans to go to a doctor.

Watkins lent his cell phone to travelers Joy and John Cloutre, who were leaving Ulysses, Ky., to move to Brunei and needed to call U.S. Air about their flight.

“My family didn’t want me to leave because of the terrorism in Brunei,” Joy Cloutre said. “And then we don’t even get out of Huntington without something like this happening.”

Huntington residents Shannon and Wayne Bloss planned on taking their two sons to Orlando, Fla., for Wayne’s brother’s wedding.

“We checked in our bags, sat down and waited for about 10 minutes before the announcement came,” Shannon Bloss said. “We were going to leave in our car and just realized we checked his car seat.”

The family wouldn’t leave without the car seat belonging to 10-month-old Braden. After borrowing a cell phone, Wayne was able to have a neighbor bring Wayne’s truck with car seats so the family could return home.

Shannon said she will be hesitant to travel on planes again.

“It’s not really fear,” she said. “This is such a small airport. I never imagined something like this happening here. It could be worse.”

For complete coverage, read Friday’s edition of The Herald-Dispatch.

I've heard a rumor that it was a Pakastani woman who was flying to Atlanta and believe she could get past security at a small airport. This is only speculation which I wouldn't be surprised to be false. Still not something I expect to here in WV.

if they're gonna do it anyways, they might as well start in..........

You've got three states out there?

There's WV, KY, and OH.

What about Pennsyltucky (PY)?

That's the shit end of the state.

Oh, I guess the end with Kentucky and Southern Ohio is shangri-la.

BREAKING NEWS: Test Shows No Explosive Residue Inside Bottles

As of 9pm, Tri-State Airport in Wayne County resumed operations. Commercial flights will not resume until tomorrow. The airport had been evacuated since after 11 this morning.

The Transportation Security Administration reports that two containers of liquid in a passenger's carry-on bag tested postive for explosive residue around 9:15 this morning. A second test was confirmed at 11:25. But a final test tonight showed that the liquid inside the bottle was not an explosive material. Captain Jack Chambers with the State Police Special Operations Unit says further tests will be conducted to determine the makeup of the residue from the outside of the bottles.

NBC News reports that federal screeners found four containers of liquids inside a woman's carry-on bag during the screening process this morning. Larry Salyers, Tri-State Airport Director, tells WSAZ the woman is of Pakistani origin, lived in Jackson, Michigan and most recently lived in the Huntington area. She is being detained for questioning.

A federal official says the containers were make-up bottles, and it's not known yet exactly what was inside. However, the official says the woman did seem to have legitimate reasons for traveling and did not fit any suspicious behavioral profile.

The trace analyzers detect minute amounts of explosive material. But they can also give positive readings on items that have come in contact with fertilizer, recently dry-cleaned clothes, and even hot dogs -- anything with nitrate compounds.

The flight in which the woman was going to board was on its way to Charlotte, North Carolina with a final destination of Detroit, Michigan.

FBI officials are on scene.

One flight was diverted to Yeager Airport in Charleston.

WV Senator Robert Byrd's office sent out this statement late Thursday afternoon.

“This is proof positive that it doesn’t pay to scrimp on homeland security in rural areas. We must not discount an airport or a chemical plant just because it happens to be in a rural state. Fortunately, it appears that an event with potential for serious consequences and calamity has been thwarted. If not for the keen vigilance of the well-prepared security personnel at Tri-State Airport, other resources would have been brought to bear including local firefighters, law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, trauma suites at local hospitals, and the entire public health system. All must be fully trained and properly equipped to respond to a variety of disasters,” said Senator Robert C. Byrd

Fortunately, a false alarm.

Thankfully this latest threat was caught before a plane was blown up. It seems almost silly that a threat could be posed from "gatorade bombs," yet when you consider that British Intelligence has recovered beverage containers with divided bottoms that held explosive propellants it's not that silly.

Tell that to this guy: