TSA screener plants powder baggie in flier's luggage

Not everyone gets the joke

A screener for the US Transportation Security Administration lost his job after pretending to plant a plastic bag of white powder in the carry-on luggage of a passenger at the Philadelphia International Airport.

Rebecca Solomon was flying to Detroit on Northwest Airlines, the same city and carrier involved in the attempted underwear bombing on Christmas, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Philly.com. After passing through a detector, the unidentified TSA worker motioned the 22-year-old passenger toward him, presented the plastic baggie and asked "Where did you get it?"

After about 20 seconds, the screener smiled and admitted that it was all a joke. But supervisors aren't laughing. A TSA spokeswoman called the behavior "highly inappropriate and unprofessional" and said the man is no longer employed with the agency. ®