Man charged for trying to take fireworks on plane

A 29-year-old man faces a maximum 10 years in prison for attempting to carry homemade fireworks on a plane Thursday morning at Philadelphia International Airport, officials said.

Joseph A. Picklo, of Dallas, Pa., attempted to get a on flight bound for San Francisco carrying two homemade M-80s, a plastic bottle filled with a powdery mixture, a test tube with a powdery substance and a wick, and a cigarette lighter, according to his arrest warrant.

Picklo was carrying the items in a back pack as he tried to get through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint for Terminals D/E around 6 a.m., the warrant said.

The discovery prompted the checkpoint to be shut down and passengers were moved to the security check-in at Terminal C, said airport spokewoman Victoria Lupica.

The closed checkpoint was reopened at 6:18 a.m., Lupica said.

The Philadelphia Police Bomb Squad neutralized the fireworks. Police said early in the day that Picklo told authorites that forgot he was carrying the fireworks.

Picklo was charged with with attempting to carry on an explosive device on a plane, said a spokeswoman for the United States Attorney's Office. Picklo appeared before a federal magistrate and had a federal defender appointed to represent him.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.