TSA worker gone from agency after prank on Detroit-bound college student at Philly airport

Philly TSA worker gone after prank on passenger

PHILADELPHIA — The Transportation Security Administration says a worker who pretended to plant a plastic bag of white powder in a college student’s carryon luggage at Philadelphia International Airport earlier this month is no longer employed by the agency.

Twenty-two-year-old Rebecca Solomon says she was having her bags screened on Jan. 5 before her flight to Detroit when the employee demanded to know where she had gotten the powder. The University of Michigan student says about 20 seconds later he smiled and said it was his.

Solomon says she was told that the man was training TSA workers to detect contraband, and two days later she was told he had been disciplined.

TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis declined to identify the worker and his job title, citing privacy laws. She also wouldn’t say whether he was fired or quit.

Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, www.philly.com