HOUSTON – A college student who packed a stick of dynamite on a flight to Houston from Argentina was granted bond Monday on a federal charge of carrying an explosive aboard an aircraft.
No future court appearances were scheduled for Howard MacFarland Fish, a 21-year-old junior majoring in biology at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.
Fish had been in federal custody since early Friday when agents found a stick of dynamite — as well as a black powder-based fuse and a blasting cap — in his checked luggage upon his arrival to Houston on a Continental Airlines flight that originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His carry-on luggage contained two more fuses.
"My son is a college student and a boy who would not hurt anyone," Howard Fish of Connecticut said after signing his son's $75,000 bond.
Fish told authorities he got the explosive devices during a tour of a mine in Bolivia, an affidavit said.
The case was among seven security incidents that disrupted U.S. flights Friday.
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