Airline’s Security Test Backfires Horizon Causes Bomb Scare At Bellingham International

A Horizon Air security check backfired Thursday at Bellingham International Airport, causing a bomb scare that shut down the airport for nearly two hours and delayed at least three flights.

Horizon is responsible for security screening at the airport and had conducted a test Thursday morning of the X-ray screening devices at the airport, said Dan Russo, director of marketing and communications for the commuter airline, a part of the Alaska Air Group that also owns Alaska Airlines.

In the test, a bag containing a device that resembled a bomb was run through the X-ray screening device.

“The screener is supposed to recognize that device as something that needs to be investigated further,” Russo explained.

The test was conducted without incident.

But afterward, “the bag that contained the fake device was left behind our ticket counter instead of being put away,” Russo said.

“So about 2 o’clock, the person working the afternoon shift came in and saw the bag behind the ticket counter,” he said.

The employee didn’t recognize the bag and ran it through the screening device.

“Lo and behold, it was a pipe bomb” - or at least a device that looked exactly like one, said Larry Woodbury, the airport’s director of aviation.

When Horizon personnel saw that, “they took the appropriate precautionary measures,” Russo said.

The airport was evacuated and cordoned off, and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Department rushed to the scene with a bomb technician.

“Basically, what we had - we had a great exercise,” Woodbury said.

“All the things that were supposed to happen happened - absolutely like clockwork,” he said.

“Actually it went very well, considering,” said sheriff’s Sgt. Arthur Edge. “If it was a true device, nobody probably would’ve gotten hurt.”

The airport and terminal were reopened at about 4:05 p.m., after the bomb squad “disclosed that it was a test device,” Woodbury said.

“They erred in the direction of safety,” Russo said of the mixup.

“I don’t think that test device will ever be placed where it doesn’t belong again in Bellingham.”

Russo apologized for any delays.

The Federal Aviation Administration was not anticipating any action in the matter, said spokesman Tim Pile in Seattle.

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