TSA Video Shows Smoke Pouring From Bag in Security Check as Travelers Look on Panicked

The TSA has just released footage of a terrifying moment when a bag began to emit smoke at a [...]

By Michael Hein

The TSA has just released footage of a terrifying moment when a bag began to emit smoke at a checkpoint.

The footage was part of NBC's Today Show on Friday. It shows a passenger who notices that a bag coming out of the x-ray machine has begun to emit some kind of smoke. The onlooker jumps a little in panic before calling out to TSA officers.

The officer who reacted first was named Darrell Wade. Without a moment's hesitation, Wade walked purposefully to the bag, picked it up and carried it out of the terminal.

In the end, the crisis was revealed to have been caused by the malfunctioning battery of a vape. Still, Wade was praised for his fast yet calm reaction, ensuring the safety of everyone to the best of his ability while reducing the likelihood of a widespread panic.

"I just really wanted everyone else to be safe. At that moment I can honestly say I wasn't thinking of me getting injured, or anything else," Wade told Fox News. "I just wanted everyone else at the checkpoint and all the other officers to be safe, passengers to be safe. I saw a threat, and I decided to take it out of the path of the passengers."

The incident reportedly took place on July 20, though footage of the frightening moment has only just surfaced.

Vaporizers, electronic cigarettes and other similar items are technically banned in checked bags,as the TSA's security screening guidelines clearly state.

"Battery-powered E-cigarettes, vaporizers, vape pens, atomizers, and electronic nicotine delivery systems may only be carried in the aircraft cabin (in carry-on baggage or on your person). Check with your airline for additional restrictions," reads the agency's website.

It has been a terrifying week in air travel stories, especially after the hijacking at Sea-Tac Airpoirt in Seattle, Washington on Friday. A 29-year-old man named Richard Russell sneaked aboard a Q400 plane and took off alone, with no piloting experience to speak of.

Russell was a baggage handler for Horizon Air's tow team, according to a report by the Seattle Times. The hijacking appears to have been a suicide attempt and nothing more, as authorities assure the public it was not an act of terrorism.

"I'm just a broken guy," Russell told air traffic controllers while he piloted the plane. "I've got a few screws loose, I guess. I never really knew it until now."

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