Photo: The National Police
A flight heading to Florida was forced to return to Panama over reports of a possible bomb, but the "explosive" turned out to be something unexpected. According to WKMG, a Copa Airlines flight was on its way to Tampa Friday morning (October 13) before it flew back to Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport to investigate the threat.
Panama's Civil Aeronautics Authority said the Boeing 737-800 landed around 11 a.m. local time and moved to an isolated stretch of the tarmac. Officials confirmed 144 passengers deboarded the plane and an anti-explosives team started searching the aircraft.
José Castro, the head of the airport’s security team, revealed the team discovered a suspicious object wrapped in a black bag in one of the plane's bathrooms. Instead of a bomb, it turned out to be a disposable adult diaper.
“We had it on a secure runway where police special explosives canine units and special forces examined the object, and found it to be an adult diaper, ruling out any risk,” Castro said.
New York Post reported the international flight eventually departed around 2 p.m. and arrived in Tampa at 7 p.m. that day.
A similar incident occurred on a Delta Airlines flight last month, where an ill passenger left diarrhea "all the way through the plane."