Charges dropped against Israeli security expert who sparked US airport panic

Charges against an Israeli man who briefly forced part of a New Jersey airport to shut down when officials discovered a fake explosive device in his bag were dropped Friday, his lawyer said.

Alon Feldman, 50, was carrying the realistic looking bomb in his carry-on luggage as he attempted to board a flight at Newark Liberty International Airport for bomb detection training. The harmless device was designed to look like a fully assembled bomb when viewed on x-ray equipment.

His lawyers said that Feldman works for a company that “designs and manufactures portable X-ray inspection systems and had the device with him for a sales demonstration with a branch of the United States military that he was traveling to.”

He was detained and charged with creating a false public alarm and interfering with transportation.

“As we said from the outset of this matter, Alon Feldman is a legitimate businessman who committed no crime,” said one of his lawyers, Matthew E. Beck. “We were confident that once the Prosecutor’s Office had time to review the facts and circumstances of the event, it would come to the same conclusion.”

Feldman had returned home, Beck said, and “will continue to pursue his business of helping countries, including the United States, remain safe.”

When he was detained, Feldman told police he had flown from Tel Aviv and was headed to Panama City, Florida, for a security training conference.

Several security lanes at the airport were temporarily closed and sappers were called to ensure the device was not a real bomb.