HARRISBURG Screeners find knife in pilot's bag

HARRISBURG (AP) -- A Comair pilot was charged with disorderly conduct after federal screeners at Harrisburg International Airport found a buck-style knife in his carryon bag, police said.
Capt. Rickey L. Mayle initially denied that he was carrying a knife, which was detected by a U.S. Transportation Security Administration screener during an X-ray inspection before Mayle was to board a flight to Atlanta on Sunday, police said.
Another screener searched the bag and found in its zipper lining the fast-action, lock-blade knife with 3-inch serrated blade.
Mayle, 46, of Florence, Ky., later admitted that the knife had been in his bag since September, and he had forgotten about it, police said.
"It's certainly not a knife you would cut your meat with," airport aviation director Fred Testa said. "I think it was a stupid move."
The FBI also was investigating, officials said.
The 45-passenger flight, scheduled for 6:50 a.m., was delayed for more than 11/2 hours until another pilot could be found, Comair spokesman Nick Miller said. The company would not release any information about Mayle.
Mayle was released without bail pending a preliminary hearing to be scheduled, police said. He did not immediately return a telephone message left at his home Tuesday, and it was not known whether he had an attorney.
Mayle has been a pilot for 16 years with Comair, a regional carrier for Delta Air Lines, police said.