http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009...irport-closure
The problem with naming punk bands after terrorist bomb threats is that sometimes people take those threats seriously. Memphis International Airport was partly evacuated on Monday, after a visitor's bicycle was spotted bearing the sticker of a folk-punk band. The name of that band? This Bike is a Pipe Bomb.
"Unfortunately, this is one of those things you can't plan for in great detail," John Greaud, the airport's vice president of operations, told WAFB News. After a security officer noticed the offending sticker, airport staff "had a K-9 bomb dog respond, [police] cleared the scene, and [they] indicated that it was not an explosive". Authorities did, however, evacuate part of Terminal C, bringing roads around the airport to a standstill.
"I saw a bunch of cops going over the bankings, going around people, cars waiting in traffic," traveller Dwayne Lapate told reporters.
Florida group This Bike is a Pipe Bomb were formed in 1997 and are well-known in underground and mischievous bumper-sticker-collecting circles. They last toured the UK in 2006.
The owner of the bicycle was not a traveller, WAFB reported. The unidentified cyclist had visited the airport to either welcome someone to Memphis or see them off. Instead, he was arrested. The FBI are now investigating.
This is the second time in three years that a bike that was not, in fact, a pipe bomb has raised suspicion thanks to a sticker saying it was. In 2006, Ohio University was shut down after an officer found an unidentified – but threateningly marked – bicycle.