A Transportation Security Administration officer was doing routine X-ray screening at Fayetteville Regional Airport when he spotted a key chain that looked suspicious.
“I have learned to examine key chains very closely,” said Brady Jackson, a nine-year TSA officer. “This had the shape I had seen before, but I wasn’t certain.”
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Fayetteville Regional Airport is located near Fort Bragg. Jackson said because of that, TSA officers at the airport see items that might not be as common at other airports – like initiators.
“I had a good assumption it was an initiator, because I have seen this type of initiator in training images,” said Ryan Rohland, a property search officer.
The term 'initiator' applies to a broad group of devices that are intended to trigger an explosive, propellant or pyrotechnic, according to the U.S. Army. They are the first porting of the explosive train.
TSA said the passenger told Rohland he liked to turn deactivated initiators into key chains, and that a friend told him because it wasn’t active he could bring it through the airport. That is not the case, according to the TSA.
A TSA explosives specialist and Fayetteville police responded to the airport. The administration said the passenger voluntarily abandoned the inert initiator.
“This was an outstanding catch, because items like this are small, easily fitting into the palm of a hand and difficult to detect on X-ray,” said James Trosper, a TSA explosives specialist. “This was an example of vigilance and effective teamwork.”
The TSA prohibits a total of 494 items. You can view the list in-depth here.