An American Airlines passenger has been indicted by a federal grand jury after being caught with explosive material and other weapons before attempting to board a flight from Sacramento, California, to Charlotte, North Carolina, at the end of last month. The man, a 49-year-old by the name of Kimani Osayande Jones, faced three separate charges relating to the incident, which occurred on May 30.

Jones was prevented from boarding his planned flight, having been stopped at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint ahead of his departure. This was just as well, given that tests that were later undertaken on his belongings found that the explosive material, in particular, could have caused injury and even a cabin depressurization. Let’s take a closer look at how the case panned out.

Averting A Dangerous Scenario

Credit: Shutterstock

As reported by the Los Angeles Times at the time of the incident, Jones was caught at a security checkpoint at Sacramento International Airport at around 9:00 PM local time on May 30. Having already drawn visual suspicion due to wearing a face covering and blue latex gloves, he claimed not to know the items were in his bag and offered to discard them, but was arrested after refusing to be interviewed.

As confirmed by the TSA in a statement released this weekend, a federal grand jury has “returned a three-count indictment” against Jones. In addition to the charge of “attempting to place a destructive device on an aircraft,” he has also been charged with “unlawfully possessing explosive material in an airport, and attempting to carry a dangerous weapon or explosive onto an aircraft.” The TSA said:

“The explosive device was safely removed by Sacramento County Sheriff bomb technicians and an FBI Special Agent bomb technician. (…) Authorities determined that both the powder and fuse were viable and energetic.”

Horrific Hand Luggage

Credit: United States District Court

As seen in the evidence photos above, Jones’s carry-on bag was filled with a catalog of weapons and other destructive paraphenalia. The Transportation Security Administration says that these included “a knife, scissors and scissor blades, an aerosol can, and zip ties.” However, arguably the most shocking discoveries were “an M-type explosive device [and] a torch lighter capable of igniting the device.”

While most modern air passengers travel with a mobile phone, and maybe a second if flying for work, Jones’ carry-on was found to contain five. This is a suspicious total under most circumstances, but especially in this case when, rather ominously, one of them “displayed a 15‑minute timer ready to begin.” With Jones having seemingly found multiple ways to detonate the explosive, stopping him was vital.

This became even clearer when the authorities had completed their tests on Jones’ belongings. Indeed, to this end, the TSA said that “the device had the potential to cause injury and, if it had detonated near a window on a pressurized aircraft flying above 10,000 feet, it could have damaged the aircraft and potentially caused a loss of cabin pressure.” Jones now faces years in prison and hefty fines if convicted.

A Closer Look At The Flight Involved

Credit: Great Circle Map

As previously noted, the flight that Jones was planning to board with his blades and explosives was an American Airlines service from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) in California. Its destination was Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in North Carolina, with this being a hub that American Airlines inherited as a result of its merger with US Airways. It serves this route once a day.

Indeed, according to data made available by Flightradar24, American Airlines flight AA2464 is scheduled to leave Sacramento at 10:03 PM local time. Operating overnight and scheduled to take a grand total of four hours and 41 minutes, its arrival into Charlotte is timed for 5:44 AM the next day, making it an ideal fit for early morning onward connections. American’s aircraft of choice is the Airbus A321 or A321neo.