False alarm at Detroit Metro: Dog mistake forces airport evacuation

6/18/2013

ROMULUS, Mich.  — Detroit Metropolitan Airport officials say a dog’s suspicions about a piece of cargo proved to be unfounded after triggering a partial evacuation of the main terminal.

The false positive finding led to the evacuation of about a third of the McNamara Terminal from 10:30 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. today.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration says a K9 unit involved in a “routine cargo inspection” alerted authorities to an item, and the agency then evacuated nearby passengers “in an abundance of caution.

Detroit Metro spokesman Scott Wintner says it turned out to be a false alarm, and authorities allowed normal passenger traffic to resume.

The airport is in the Detroit suburb of Romulus.