A passenger travelling from Nebraska was arrested after airport security allegedly found a homemade explosive device hidden in his carry-on bag, prompting a backlash over the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) light-hearted social media response to the incident. Che Kristian Salpas, 27, was detained at Omaha's Eppley Airport on 5 September after scanners detected a suspicious item, but criticism erupted when the TSA posted a jokey account of the discovery on Instagram the day before the 25th anniversary of the 11 September attacks, with users branding the tone inappropriate and disrespectful.

According to a criminal complaint, the device was a four-inch cardboard tube containing powder, found in an empty pill container alongside rocks and a lighter; it lit up neon green on scanners, indicating suspected energetic material, and a bomb squad officer confirmed it was designed to detonate. Salpas denied the item was his, telling federal agents he believed it was a firework from his parents' home, but was charged with carrying an explosive into an airport and remains in Douglas County Jail. He had been due to fly to Salt Lake City on a Delta flight; the TSA separately marked its 25th anniversary with a statement emphasising its "vigilance" and evolving security mission, following the deaths of nearly 3,000 people on 11 September 2001.