A backpack left behind with a book about the history of the atomic bomb shut down Pittsburgh International Airport for several hours late Wednesday night, according to the
Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
Port Authority spokesman Jim Ritchie said a traveler who took a shuttle bus from the airport to the Oakland section of Pittsburgh left his backpack behind. After the bus came back to the airport with the bag in it, someone who looked inside saw the book about atomic bombs.
“All they saw was a book that had something to do with bombs," Ritchie said. "You really can't mess around with that kind of thing. You have to let the authorities step in and take a look. That's when you trigger the sequence of safety measures that are in place now.”
Several agencies came to the airport to investigate, including the FBI, the Allegheny County bomb squad, and Port Authority, and county police. The airport’s security checkpoints and a shuttle train were also shut down as a precaution, a facility spokesman said.
The incident started at about 10:30 p.m. and lasted through midnight. There were no departing passengers at the airport at the time, but inbound passengers had to be bused to another terminal.
The backpack’s owner, meanwhile, realized he’d left his bag behind and flagged down another bus, eventually speaking with authorities.
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