Mock Explosive Device Found On Chicago-Bound Flight From Toronto

TORONTO — A 58-year-old U.S. man faces charges after a mock improvised explosive device was discovered Thursday in a suitcase on a Chicago-bound United Airlines flight from Toronto, according to reports. The device was found by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in the preclearance area at Pearson International Airport, ABC 7 Eyewitness news reports. They then alerted Canadian authorities, the report added.

Screening for travelers was temporarily stopped after the device, which was not part of a training exercise, was discovered, the report stated. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority the mock IED, which tested negative for explosives, the report added.

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During the incident, passengers already aboard United flight 547 were bused to an isolation area, according to CBC News. Their luggage was then rescreened before they got back on the plane, which eventually departed after a six-hour delay.

Police arrested the passenger, who was not identified, and he faces a charge of mischief, CBC News reports. He was being held in Toronto, awaiting a bail hearing, and did not travel to Chicago on his original flight, the report added.

"I can't speak to why the person would do that," U.S. Customs spokesman Anthony Bucci told CBC News. "When we encountered it, out of an abundance of caution, we're going to treat it like it's a real thing. … Fortunately, it turned out to be a fake."

More via CBC News

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