An American suspected of flying from Buenos Aires with dynamite in his luggage was questioned by FBI officials in Houston after bomb-sniffing dogs picked up a scent in his luggage on Friday, officials said, according to Reuters. A law enforcement official said the 21-year-old's luggage appeared to contain dynamite and "other stuff" that could be used to detonate dynamite but said the items needed to be tested. It was the latest in a series of scares -- at least three of them on Friday -- since police in Britain uncovered a suspected plot to blow up U.S.-bound airliners this month. Since then security has been tightened at airports and passengers have been jittery. In Buenos Aires, Marcelo Sain, head of Argentina's Airport Security Police, told local TV that in the luggage authorities found "a Coca Cola bottle with mud, and inside it was a tube with ammonium nitrate, a little bit of dynamite and a detonator." Mark Mancuso, deputy director for public safety at Houston airports, said the man told authorities the items were souvenirs purchased at a mine in Bolivia. The man was said to be cooperating with investigators. Continental Airlines said in a statement that a bomb-sniffing dog at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport "indicated that a piece of luggage in the customs area tested positive for possible explosive material." The flight, Continental Airlines flight 52, was detained in Houston and searched, then continued on to Newark where it was searched again as a precaution but nothing was found. Also on Friday, American Airlines flight 55 carrying 179 people from Manchester, England, to Chicago was diverted to Bangor, Maine, because of unspecified security concerns. The plane landed safely. US Airways flight 146 from Phoenix to Charlotte on Friday was diverted to Oklahoma City after a passenger had a confrontation with a flight attendant, the airline said. "We're not taking any chances," said Valerie Wunder, a spokeswoman for US Airways. "We'd rather have the pilot or the air marshal make a call" to divert a flight than have an incident with broader implications. In a statement the Air Transport Association said: "Decisions to divert aircraft for security reasons are made for a wide variety of reasons. While the reasons for these decisions will vary, the common factor is the overarching importance of assuring the safety of our passengers and crews."
