Miami Airport Reopened After Security Closure

(CBS/AP)  Last Updated 12:32 p.m. ET

A scientist detained at Miami International Airport after screeners found a metal canister in his luggage that looked like a pipe bomb has been released after being detained and questioned.

CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that the 70-year-old man is now "free to go and will not be charged," according to a U.S. law enforcement official.

A bomb squad spent hours scouring Miami International Airport Thursday night. Four of the airport's six concourses along with an onsite hotel were evacuated after screeners found the canister.

The container found in the man's checked luggage tested negative for explosives and was deemed to be part of "a legitimate experiment."

Police and airport officials described the shutdown and evacuation of Terminals E, F, G and H as a safety precaution.

The Miami International Airport Hotel, which is located near the airport's international terminal, was also evacuated, airport spokesman Greg Chin told The Associated Press said.

The airport fully reopened just after 4 a.m. Friday before the first scheduled morning departures, which signaled the start of the peak Labor Day weekend.

"Everything's back to normal," Chin said.

Passengers, workers and others were allowed back in just as the airport was expecting the first of 1,500 passengers on flights between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. alone - and more thereafter.

There could be residual delays as operations get back to full speed throughout the day.

The passenger, a 70-year-old scientist, was said to be "extremely cooperative" with investigators, Orr reports, and "willingly assisted" them.

The Transportation Security Administration declined to identify the passenger, saying in a terse statement that the screener spotted something suspicious in a checked back at about 9 p.m. Thursday, the passenger located and detained.

CBS Station WFOR correspondent Sharrie Williams reports the passenger, a U.S. citizen, arrived on an international flight that oringinated in Saudi Arabia and flew through London.

"TSA, federal authorities and local officials have the responsibility to treat suspicious items as the real thing until confirmed otherwise. Authorities quickly worked together to respond to this situation and keep the traveling public safe," a federal law enforcement official told CBS News.

Miami-Dade Police said a bomb squad spent hours at the airport with fire officials and others. Fire trucks and police vehicles stood by and a hazardous material team was spotted at the scene.

Police spokesman Alvaro Zableta had urged those with scheduled departures Friday to check with local air carriers.

Chin said between 100 and 200 passengers were evacuated initially.

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Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the passenger's flight originated in Brazil.

[AlanW21126p]

Remember folks, the same morons who run TSA will be running your healthcare soon!

HA HA!!!

Don't say we didnt tell you so.

I hope all you people out there who supported ObamaCare suffer the most. Here's hoping you enjoy your 3 month wait for an appendectomy, your 1 year wait for a EKG, and your 2 year wait for a bypass.

[AlanW21126p]

TSA is perhaps the worst-run agency the government has.That is saying a lot, since they have close competition from the VA, Social Security, HHS, DMV, Border Patrol, FBI, CIA, and a dozen other agencies.

[PowerSourcePC]

What a complete overblown cluster @#%$. This is why I refuse to fly unless it is an absolute emergency. These screeners look for any excuse to shut down an airport, delay passengers and flights. This was complete overkill. Evacuating a hotel and the airport was just a tad extreme for the situation. Why didn't the screener detain the passenger right away instead of letting him go and then calling the police. Had this been done it could have saved a lot of problems for thousands of passengers, hotel guests and the police. I guess the SWAT team needed some practice anyway.

[verbusen]

12 Monkeys.

[docrambo]

Has the TSA completely banned common sense from its employees? The typical bureacratic overreaction to show the populace just how powerful these governmental types are: Doesn't matter how nonsensical their behavior is, they are the bosses and they will dictate the steps necessary for public safety, no matter how seriously inconvenienced the people are, and how much money they are wasting with their dog and pony show. Incompetent bumbling asshats, all of them.

[m_asher]

The hysteria is getting out of control. Shutting down four entire concourses because someone found a metal cannister in a man's luggage?

[idiotmitten]

They do this to let everyone know that they have the POWER to do so. They maximize the inconvenience because they can.

[lalydia]

Would it have killed them to say what was in the canister?

[wyodutch]

Panic and paranoia are the norm in today's gutless America.
.
If you want to see how effective the American government is in "protecting" you... Simply go back and review video tapes from September 11, 2001.