[url]www.11alive.com/hartsfield.html[/url]The U.S. Department of Transportation ordered the evacuation of between 5,000 to 10,000 people at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport Friday after a man rushed past a security checkpoint.

With a 'Code Orange' issued about 11:45 a.m., the FAA grounded all outgoing flights from Hartsfield.

While international inbound flights were being allowed to land and park at the airport, some domestic flights were diverted to other airports and put on hold.

Security cameras were able to capture a picture of the man, who was described as White, about 6 feet tall with blonde hair. He was wearing a white T-shirt and a white jogging pants with a stripe down the side.

Unofficial police reports indicated a man matching that description was detained in the north terminal, but airport general manager Ben DeCosta later said the man had not been found.

"Once the evacuation is completed, we will do a search to make sure the concourses are secure and then begin to bring our passengers and customers back on the concourses," said DeCosta.

Following the security breach, passengers onboard outgoing flights were escorted off their planes and the airport's train system shut down. Travelers and workers in the farthest terminals were forced to walk to the outside of the building where crowds rapidly grew in number.

"You simply want to know what's going and they're just literally shoveling us along here. And I think there's more or less confusion as well," passenger Rachel Spahn said during a live report on 11Alive News. "I simply just see a lot of people walking around in circles trying to figure out where to go."

Roads going into the out of the airport were closed to traffic. It was not clear when air traffic would restart at Hartsfield.

Maybe he had to go to the bathroom really bad?

I think the save thing to do would have been to evacuate the whole city of Atlanta, or maybe all of Georgia.

We have to [b]be[/s] feel safe don't we?

LOL!!!!!!!

It was OJ filming a Hertz commercial.

Latest word is he bolted when they wanted to search him after finding something in his carry-on. Dope is my guess.

[url]http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/wsbtv/news/hartsfield1116.html[/url]

I'm about as evacuated as I'm going to get.  I thought these guards were armed?  With all the JBT's screeming PC, you think they would have just shot his ass and been done with it!

We really are a Nation of Cowards.

Where the hell are the men in Atlanta?  If I'm at the airport and I see some jackass coming the wrong way on the escalator in a hurry, I'm going to butch up and tackle his ass.  Then again, I guess that's the luxury of being 6'3", 315lbs and an ex-bouncer. [}:D]

God Bless Texas

Yo....BIG Country.....[:D]

Dammit, I am flying from Pensacola To Miami Via Atlanta on Tuesday. They better open it back up before then. There will be hell to pay if I miss Thanksgiving becuase some dirtbag was caught shipping Dope.

Have they set the backpack on fire yet? [pyro]

No.  There was no butane torch, and they haven't figured out flint and iron yet. [:D]
"[b]FIRE BAD!  FIRE BAD![/b]"

God Bless Texas

In addition, State Police stopped a guy headed south on I-75 wearing a gas mask!  He had "numerous" guns and "unknown" white powder in the car.

Taken back to Atlanta for ID.  

More information as it becomes available.