A source who witnessed security video of a teen who brought a pipe bomb to the Edmonton International Airport tells CTV News, security staff attempted to give the explosive back.

19-year-old Skylar Murphy appeared in court last month for possessing an explosive device that he apparently forgot in his carry-on bag.

A court transcript shows that on September 20, Murphy - who was 18 at the time - was attempting to go through a security checkpoint at the Edmonton International Airport when Canada's Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) discovered a suspicious item in his camera bag.

The item was taken out of the bag in front of the teen, it contained a pipe filled with black powder measuring 14 cm (5 1/2-inches) with a fuse over 275 cm (9 feet) long.

A source, who witnessed security video of the incident, says the CATSA worker who found the explosive did not seem to know what he was handling.

In the video, the worker apparently took the device apart, looked inside and then called over a supervisor, before handing the pipe bomb back.

The teen did not want the device and handed it back to security; CTV News has been told the explosive was thrown into a large bin.

Murphy was still allowed to board a flight to Mexico.

RCMP were notified four days later, and Murphy was arrested when he returned from his trip.

CATSA is not saying why the passenger was allowed to get on his flight or why it took so long to contact authorities.

“CATSA screening officers do not have the authority to apprehend or detain passengers,” spokesperson Mathieu Larocque said.

He also said that, “for security reasons, I can’t go into details about our procedures at the checkpoint, which include our protocols with the police."

The court document states that Murphy claimed to have made two pipe bombs with a friend. He said that the pair detonated one pipe bomb at an earlier date in a rural area, and that the other they had intended to use to blow up a shed and photograph it.

He said he accidentally left the explosive in his camera bag and never intended to bring it on the plane.

The judge called Murphy’s actions “careless” and “irresponsible”. He was handed a sentence of one year probation, a $100 fine and was ordered to pay a $500 charitable donation to the University of Alberta burn unit.

In a statement, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt called it unacceptable that security officials waited four days to notify RCMP about the incident.

In response, CATSA admitted the RCMP should have been contacted earlier, and said "those involved in the incident were disciplined and required to take extra training."

With files from David Ewasuk and Dan Grummett