Slovaks admit blame for explosives test on plane

[February 04, 2010]  BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) -- Slovak officials are saying "a silly and unprofessional mistake" during an airport security test ended up with a civilian man unwittingly carrying hidden explosives in his bag on a flight to Dublin.

An interior ministry statement on Wednesday says such tests have been stopped and steps are being taken to prevent a repeat of the weekend incident. Senior police official Tibor Mako, whose office carried out the test, has offered his resignation.

Authorities wanted to test sniffer dogs when they placed two samples of an explosive in a Slovak passenger's bag on Saturday. They said the dogs found only one sample.

Officials said the bag with 90 grams (3 ounces) of RDX plastic explosive traveled undetected through security at Poprad-Tatry Airport in central Slovakia onto a Danube Wings plane to Dublin.

[Associated Press]

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