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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Smelly Shoes Prompt Airport Evacuation

Compiled From Wire Services

TWA’s international terminal at Kennedy Airport was evacuated for an hour Saturday after shoes in a passenger’s bag were found with traces of nitrates - a compound found in both bombs and fertilizer, officials said.

The terminal was evacuated at 4:25 p.m. when an X-ray screening device showed the potential of a bomb and a bomb-sniffing dog confirmed the machine’s suspicions.

But a police bomb squad found the nitrates were on the shoes only and there was no bomb, allowing passengers to return to the terminal at 5:35 p.m., said Port Authority Sgt. Donald Kupper.

Kupper said the evacuation caused delays in many TWA flights.