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The National's Matt Berninger Accidentally Causes Airport Evacuation

The NationalThe Indie Rock Terrorism Alert seems to be at an all-time high. While Eels' Mark Oliver Everett was recently mistaken for a terrorist at London's Hyde Park, Spinner has learned that another indie rocker faced such allegations. On a recent trip to AOL's Los Angeles headquarters, the National's Matt Berninger revealed that he was taken into federal custody at Honolulu's airport because of a misunderstanding.

Following a rigorous overseas press schedule -- these stories always seem to start this way -- with bandmate Aaron Dessner behind the band's new album 'High Violet,' a jetlagged and exhausted Berninger was to meet his wife and one-and-a-half-year-old daughter for what he calls their "first official family vacation" in Kauai. After a seven-hour flight from Tokyo, waiting for his connection in a massage chair with a muffin in one hand and coffee in the other, Berninger could almost feel the mist of Kauai's many waterfalls on his face when things went wrong.

"Suddenly I hear my name being called," he tells Spinner, "and my name's flashing on all the monitors, and I was supposed to report to security." His next thought was only natural. "I sat in the massage chair. I was kind of hoping that maybe I could finish this 15-minute massage chair thing first then realized that maybe I shouldn't." So he approached the security desk where the woman behind the counter told him, "Sir, I can't help you right now. They're evacuating the airport."

This is where Berninger, the deep baritone that has people attach words like "melancholy" and "dark" to the indie rock band with Ohio roots, realized that perhaps "there's something going on." Outside, as he was watching people clear the airport, the cause of the situation dawned on him.

"I had bought a novelty clock in Tokyo, some sort of MacGyver, goofball alarm clock that happened to look exactly like a bomb. And it was in my suitcase," he says, describing the memento he bought for a pal. "I had the Honolulu Airport evacuated for about 45 minutes. I ultimately had to surrender the alarm clock to the TSA but they were very pleasant and professional. They had done a great job and I thanked them and they let me go." With everything cleared up, Berninger apologizes to anyone at the airport that may have missed their connecting flights that day.

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Houhynym

"Publicity stunt"! "Mongo"! ALL CAPS FOR NO REASON! I applaud everyone here for a) bothering to get so worked up over the story of a simple, kind of funny mistake and b) proudly announcing their ignorance of just about everything while being furious at something that affected them in no way. Congrats to all!
Oh, and "The Nationals"' latest album debuted at Number Three, Einsteins. But don't worry about it: it's probably not for you, because it requires some actual attention, and you haven't listened to that Ke$ha album in, what, an hour? Best get back to it. Plus, someone else you've never heard of has probably made an innocent mistake you can criticize as a "publicity stunt"! Get to work, Internet! Stupid dismissive remarks aren't going to make themselves!

June 29 2010 at 2:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
someToast

Can always buy another one and have it sent via the mail (as long as that doesn't shut down UPS).

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/d0a5/

June 27 2010 at 9:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Carlene

Alianna, You said, "He didn't make a big deal about it". That is the problem. Have you already forgotten about all the people who died in airplanes on 9/11? Have you been so out of the loop that you don't know that with all the regulations that have been passed to keep airplanes, their passengers and airports safe? Do you REALLY think that the people inspecting the baggage just thought "what the...."? Would you have wanted to be on an airplane with employees who would just say, "Well, maybe it's a Japanese cookoo clock just made to look like a bomb? It could have been a tragedy. It's truly sad that some folks want to just brush off events instead of making people pay for their "naive" judgements.

June 26 2010 at 12:56 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Abraxus

So, he bought a gag gift - he didn't put it in his carry-on, he put it in his suitcase and it got all the way from wherever he started out to Hawaii. It wasn't drugs, it wasn't explosive, he just probably got randomly searched and they went WTF???? Could happen to anyone - I have had that little note in my suitcase more than once that says security checked out my bag. Yeah, he was a little naive, but please, he didn't make a big deal of it, someone else thought it made a good story!

June 26 2010 at 12:41 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ron

The Nationals? Is that like the baseball team that doesn't really have a name- so, they just call 'em the Nats. LOL

June 26 2010 at 12:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mesaman

Mongo make stupid. Mongo big dork. Mongo named Matt.

June 25 2010 at 11:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dean

Just another publicity stunt.

June 25 2010 at 11:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Laura Lynn

Every airline sends a list with every ticket they sell letting you know what you can and can not take on an airplane in your checked and your carry-on luggage. They even tell you how to pack certain things and where to place them in your luggage so things like this don't happen. If he had just taken the time to read the material that was sent with his ticket he wouldn't have waisted everyones time and money that day. 5 minutes of reading can go a long way in saving 100's of thousand of dollars and thousands of people time and frustration. Next time you fly, please be considerate of your fellow passengers and be a well educated and prepared traveler.

June 25 2010 at 10:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Laura Lynn's comment
Carlene

Does one really require a list that says not to put something that appears to be a BOMB in one's suitcase? Please!

June 26 2010 at 12:44 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
muffinfluffer

who is stupid enough to buy a clock that looks like a bomb and pack it in his suitcase? what a complete *.

June 25 2010 at 9:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
B H McFly

The "singer" is a moron, but now he is famous. I used to fly.
BHMc

June 25 2010 at 9:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply