A scalpel or similar "knifelike object" was found on a US Airways flight about to take off from Pittsburgh International Airport last night, grounding the plane as security officials searched it and passengers.
Allegheny County Airport Authority spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny said the sharp object was found at about 7:40 p.m. on Flight 1897, bound for Charlotte, N.C. The plane was in the process of moving away from its gate to position itself for taxiing down a runway for takeoff.
An unidentified passenger told KDKA-TV in a telephone interview that another passenger on the plane, which was full, discovered a scalpel near her. He said the flight crew took the plane back to the gate for security reasons.
The plane had 142 passengers and five crew members aboard, said US Airways spokesman Phil Gee. The object was apparently lying under a seat, he said. No one made any threatening gesture with it.
"It just appears to be a small scalpel just left on the floor -- it could have been on the inbound flight preceding this one," Mr. Gee said. The plane had arrived in Pittsburgh from Charlotte less than an hour earlier.
Ms. Jenny said security officials put into effect a specific plan used for an aircraft that has been declared as "threatened." Passengers were taken off the plane and went through rescreening by the Transportation Security Administration staff.
Also, Allegheny County police were summoned to investigate the incident, and the aircraft was moved to a separate section of the terminal to be checked.
Mr. Gee said that although nothing else unusual turned up in inspections of the plane or passengers, the airline decided about 11:30 p.m. to cancel the flight. He said the decision stemmed from complications in obtaining a new flight crew to replace the one that had exceeded the amount of time it could be on duty, and in getting Transportation Security Administration clearance quickly enough to put the plane back into service.
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