'Mouthy' traveler gets luggage blown up

**Paddles_up** · February 23, 2005, 09:51 PM

Woman's 'snippy' comment at ticket counter sparks bomb scare

Posted: February 19, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Get "snippy" with an airlines' ticket agent and you may never see your luggage again.

That's the experience of Dr. Esha Khoshnu, a New Jersey psychiatrist traveling to San Diego to attend a conference.

While changing planes in Phoenix, Khoshnu got testy at a Mesa Airlines ticket counter, reports KGTV news, saying, "If I had a bomb, you wouldn't find it."

The Transportation Security Administration described Khoshnu as acting "mouthy and snippy," according to KGTV.

The bomb comment touched off a security scare and FBI officials were dispatched to question Khoshnu, who was subsequently detained long enough to miss her flight.

Her suitcase, however, got past security and was loaded onto the America West jet.

When Mesa Airlines Flight 6264 landed at Lindbergh Field in San Diego the pilot was instructed to taxi to a remote area of the airport where some 35 passengers were taken off the plane and escorted onto two buses, reports City News Service.

"When we landed and quickly did a U-turn on the runway, I was like, 'They never do that.' Then, all the cars started coming and it was obvious that it was for our plane. That was the scary part," one passenger told KGTV.

City News Service reports members of the San Diego Fire Department's bomb squad searched the plane but found no explosives. Next, they removed Khoshnu's suitcase and inspected it in an open area on the grounds of the airport.

Although they found nothing suspicious, authorities blew up the bag with an explosive charge and then doused it with water.

Khoshnu was eventually released and allowed to board a later flight to San Diego. KGTV reports the Assistant U.S. Attorney in Phoenix decided her actions did not merit charges.