Hairspray packed into a checked bag caused a small explosion at the Miami Airport. Image: Wikimedia Commons
Police and emergency crews at the Miami Airport are on high alert today. A baggage handler reported an explosion while loading luggage. The Miami airport explosion was due to a can of hairspray.
Hairspray boom at Miami airport
About 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the Miami-Dade bomb squad was called to respond to a Miami airport explosion. A baggage handler was unloading luggage from an American Airlines flight when a bag exploded. Pieces of metal flew everywhere, and a splinter of metal lodged itself in the baggage handler’s shoe. The baggage handler was not severely hurt, and the exploding hairspray shrapnel did not hit anyone else.
TSA investigating Miami Airport flight 2585
The Transportation Security Administration is currently investigating the explosion at Miami airport. None of the 148 passengers have been detained or questioned, though one is surely missing his or her hairspray. Hairspray is allowed to be in checked luggage, though it has been banned from carry-on for years. Checked luggage is subject to much larger swings in air pressure, as the baggage compartment is not usually pressurized. Any can or bottle of pressurized liquid, such as hairspray, would be subject to explosive decompression after the extreme swings in pressure after being in the baggage compartment.
No major delays at Miami Airport
The Miami Airport, despite being overrun with police, TSA, and the bomb squad, is not encountering any major delays. Flights are continuing on schedule, in general, from the Miami Airport. Flights into and out of many other East Coast airports continue to be heavily delayed due to the big blizzard. The TSA has not reported any plans to ban pressurized cans, such as hairspray, from flights. Larger cans or bottles of liquid continue to be banned from carry-on luggage. TSA security will not let passengers onto flights with liquids but will kindly confiscate them for those who want to make their flights.
