More details are emerging about why an 18-year-old Spruce Grove resident had a pipe bomb in his carry-on bag last September at Edmonton International Airport.

On Sept. 20, officials with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) came across a suspicious looking item on the x-ray screen that scans carry-on bags at the airport. The item was taken from the passenger, Skylar Vincent Murphy, but he was still allowed to board his flight to Mexico.

Murphy was arrested and charged with being in possession of an explosive substance when he returned to Edmonton a week later.

According to court documents from his December sentencing in Leduc, the object was inside a small cloth bag and was made out of a five-and-a-half inch metal pipe with two threaded end caps. One end of the pipe had a fuse sticking out that measured over nine feet long. The pipe was filled with black powder.

Murphy admitted in court that he swiped the black powder from the bullet collection of his mother's fiance, who works for the sheriff's service. He purchased the other materials from a local hardware store.

Murphy also explained how he and a friend had built the pipe bomb and planned to blow up a shed. He planned to photograph the explosion, which is why he had the bomb inside his camera bag. When he packed for his flight, he placed his camera inside his carry-on duffel bag.

"He emphatically denied that his intent was to cause damage to the airport or any aircraft. He claimed that he forgot the pipe bomb was inside his camera bag," said the Crown in court transcripts.

Murphy was handed a $100 fine and one year probation. Judge Marilyn White gave him a stern warning upon sentencing.

"I have to say, forgetting a pipe bomb is something bigger than a pair of scissors for your nails," said White. "If the authorities had missed that pipe bomb and you had gone, in Mexico, through a screening device, you would not even get a trial. You would be in a Mexican jail ... I doubt you would have survived."

Mounties weren't notified about the suspicious item until four days after it was seized. CATSA admits it dropped the ball by failing to notify RCMP officers on site immediately about the explosive and has taken steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.

pamela.roth@sunmedia.ca

@SUNpamelaroth