By WILL MANLY
Hays Daily News
The terminal at Hays Regional Airport was evacuated and the airport spent about three hours on lock down Tuesday afternoon because a passenger accidentally packed an inert grenade in a carry-on bag.
Security screeners at the airport first saw the grenade — the kind that's has been hollowed out for decoration or display — in an X-ray scanner in a passenger's rucksack before the passenger boarded an outbound flight at about noon Tuesday. The screeners notified the Hays Police Department, who examined the scene and then called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The ATF told local authorities to leave the bag in place under the scanner, and a team of explosives technicians was dispatched from eastern Kansas.
"They moved the bag form the terminal and, upon further inspection, determined what looked like a grenade was a grenade, but it was inert," said Philip Hartsfield, assistant chief of the Hays Police Department. "Obviously this item should never have been carried on the airport."
Hartsfield said authorities evacuated the building to err on the side of caution.
The individual, who was not identified, was later allowed to board the flight and it departed. Hartsfield said authorities think the passenger inadvertently loaded the false grenade in his bag.
Will Manly is a reporter for The Hays Daily News and The Stir. He can be reached at (785) 628-1081, Ext. 139, or by e-mail at will@thestironline.com.