Security scare at Miami Airport caused by bag of dental equipment

A terrifying security scare took place at Miami Airport this week after authorities said a passenger boarded an American Airlines flight to Barbados with suspicious hand luggage.

The passenger in question (wearing the red shirt) was searched and then taken off the plane for questioning, and his carry-on bag was confiscated.

See also: Is this Britain's least punctual plane?

But it wasn't just one flight that was affected; the security alert caused chaos at one of the world's busiest airports and infuriated travellers.

Cheri F. McGuire was on the plane in question and filmed what took place when the authorities boarded the plane.

On her Twitter account she reported that the passengers were eventually evacuated from the plane after it had sat on the tarmac for two hours.​

The security alert caused total chaos and delayed 50 flights. The airport terminal was locked down and dozens of people were even trapped inside a TGI Fridays restaurant after the security bars came down.

While further checks were made, police officers patrolled the terminal with M16 assault rifles, one passenger commented: "It's kind of scary!"

See also: Stansted named third most punctual airport in the world

The downing of a Russian jet in Egypt by an ISIS bomb last week has made travellers and security especially cautious.

Luckily for those at Miami Airport, the incident turned out to be a false alarm, the passenger who was removed from the flight was completely innocent.

The man was a dentist and some of the equipment he was carrying triggered an alert that required a second screening. But, a miscommunication between TSA agents meant he was permitted to board the jet without further checks, which is when the airport was shut down.

A TSA spokesman told the Miami Herald: "In the process of transitioning other passengers to an adjacent screening lane, standard procedures were not adhered to and the passenger was allowed to depart the checkpoint and proceed into the terminal."

Mike Leverock, a spokesman from the FBI, said the man cooperated with the authorities and faced no charges.