White powder found in passenger plane's cargo hold sparked security scare... but it turned out to be a LAXATIVE
- Luggage was being unloaded from a plane in Birmingham, Alabama
- A ramp agent discovered the white powder in an unmarked plastic bag
- Investigators wearing full-body protective suits attended the scene
- Tests determined the substance was an over-the-counter laxative
A mysterious powdered substance that caused a security scare at Alabama’s busiest airport turned out to be a laxative, say authorities.
Investigators wearing full-body protective suits handled the white powder after it was discovered inside the cargo hold of a passenger plane at Birmingham’s Shuttlesworth International Airport.
The substance was tested and determined to be MiraLax, an over-the-counter product used to provide relief from constipation.
![Investigators wearing full-body protective suits were called in to identify the mysterious white substance](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/20/12/2EA2FB4E00000578-3327011-image-a-12_1448024297186.jpg)
Investigators wearing full-body protective suits were called in to identify the mysterious white substance
A ramp worker alerted authorities after spotting the powder in a plastic bag as luggage was being removed from the Delta Air Lines plane yesterday morning.
The Boeing 737-700 had just landed after a 30-minute flight from Atlanta and passengers were already inside the terminal when the substance was discovered.
The plane was quickly swarmed by police cars and fire engines, and a hazardous materials team was called in to get a closer look at the unmarked bag.
After the plane was given the all clear, the return flight to Atlanta left about three hours late.
No other flights were delayed.
![The plane was swarmed by police officers and firefighters after the powder was found in a plane's cargo hold](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/11/20/12/2EA2FB3600000578-3327011-image-a-13_1448024306086.jpg)
The plane was swarmed by police officers and firefighters after the powder was found in a plane's cargo hold
Airport spokeswoman Toni Herrera-Bast told Fox News affiliate WBRC: ‘At approximately 9am we were notified that there was an unknown substance that was found on a Delta flight that had just come in from Atlanta.
‘It was discovered by one of the ramp agents that was unloading the baggage.’
Birmingham Fire & Rescue Service Battalion Chief Kenneth Hatcher told AL.com the bag probably fell out of a passenger’s luggage.
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