Milk powder brings mid-air scare on China Airlines flight

Powdered milk was the suspected cause of a mid-air scare yesterday, when the crew of a China Airlines (華航) flight carrying 355 people to Hong Kong reported finding a suspicious white powder thought to have been a biological agent.

While the substance itself may have been harmless, China Airlines executives are investigating whether its presence aboard the flight was the result of an intentional act designed to cause alarm or simply a case of spilled milk powder.

At around 12:17pm, the crew of flight CI605 on route from Taipei reported to officials at Hong Kong airport that they had discovered a suspicious white powder on board, according Connie Hon, spokesperson for the airport authority in Hong Kong.

"Once the flight landed, the Hong Kong police conducted a thorough search and at around 2:20pm we were informed by the police that there were no dangerous substances found on board," she said.

According to Paul Wang (王振畬), spokesman for China Airlines, after the crew discovered the powder atop a case containing emergency oxygen bottles near the crew's seats on the upper deck of the Boeing 747-400, they responded immediately.

"According to procedure, they put a plastic sheet over it and reported the discovery to the captain," Wang said.

Wang said that Hong Kong police confirmed that the powder "definitely did not contain anthrax and was in fact just milk powder."

As to whether the powder was put there intentionally to cause alarm is still under investigation, said Wang, who confirmed that China Airlines does not serve powdered creamer to passengers.

Samson Yeh, head of flight safety for China Airlines, said the powder may have been accidentally spilled by a mother preparing formula for an infant.

It was unclear whether there were any mothers with children on the flight, but Yeh said that it would be looked into.

Once the plane landed, all passengers and crew were allowed to leave the plane, except for 13 passengers seated in the business-class section located on the upper deck of the aircraft, Wang said.

These passengers were allowed to leave approximately one hour later after being screened by police, Wang said, adding that information on the passengers was taken in case any are needed for further questioning.

In stepping up security against bioterrorism, the Department of Health's Center for Disease Control has dispatched 100 experts to CKS Airport, where they stand ready to counter any suspected cases of contamination.

The CKS Airport authority is also beefing up checks on luggage to be put on flights to the US, CKS officials said.