ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A man was arrested after an explosive was found in a bag checked onto a Florida-bound flight at an eastern Pennsylvania airport, federal authorities said.
Marc Muffley, 40, is charged with possessing an explosive in an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft, according to a criminal complaint.
Prosecutors allege that the material was found in a suitcase Muffley had checked in Monday at Lehigh Valley International Airport to Allegiant Air Flight 201, which was bound for Orlando Sanford International Airport in Florida.
Security expert Charles Marino told NewsNation this incident shows how critical airport security is.
“It demonstrates how the Department of Homeland Security needs to keep on getting better, better people being hired, training and investment in technologies to prevent things like this from happening,” he said.
After an alert during security screening, the bag was examined, and found hidden in the lining was a “circular compound” about three inches in diameter wrapped in a wax-like paper and clear plastic wrap.
An FBI bomb technician X-rayed the compound and concluded that it contained a granular powder “consistent with a commercial grade firework” and “suspected to be a mixture of flash powder and the dark granulars that are used in commercial grade fireworks.”
Attached was a “quick fuse” similar to a candle wick — apparently part of the original manufacture of the compound — as well as a “hobby fuse” that burns more slowly and appeared to have been added after the manufacture, authorities said.
Authorities said they concluded that both the black powder and flash powder “are susceptible to ignite from heat and friction and posed a significant risk to the aircraft and passengers,” according to the criminal complaint.
Marino said Muffley’s arrest is an example of why law enforcement agencies need to be monitoring not just organized terror groups from abroad but also domestically, though it’s not yet known if Muffley has ties to any extremist groups.
“You have an individual that has a minor criminal history, and he makes this very large jump to now trying to bomb an airliner,” Marino said.
Authorities said Muffley was paged over the airport’s public address system and shortly thereafter he was seen leaving the airport. He was traced to a Lansford address, where he was arrested by the FBI late Monday night.
Officials said he remains in custody pending a probable cause hearing and a detention hearing at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Allentown, with Muffley attending via videoconference.
It’s unclear whether Muffley has an attorney. A working number for him could not be found Wednesday.
NewsNation’s Steph Whiteside contributed to this report
