By: centraljersey.com
ROBBINSVILLE – A beeping package inside a UPS truck at the Robbinsville Airport led to the evacuation of the airport and nearby homes on Sharon Road for about two hours last week until the state police bomb squad determined the box contained only a harmless metal detector.
The UPS driver was making his first delivery at 9:42 a.m. Feb. 10 at the airport when he heard beeping coming from inside a package in the back of his delivery truck, according to Robbinsville police.
"He called us, we evacuated everyone in the area that was appropriate," Chief Martin Masseroni told the Township Council later that night. "We called for bomb dog and then the state police bomb unit came and put on their Michelin (Man) suits and did their thing, took an X-ray … and it ended up being nothing."
The beeping in the box was coming from an electronic device that is used to detect underground pipes and utility lines, Chief Masseroni said. The device somehow switched on when the package turned over while inside the truck.
"Obviously, the UPS truck is all metal, and it started beeping," Chief Masseroni said.
The airport was closed until about noon on Feb. 10, Lt. Mike Polaski said Monday. Everyone on the property, as well as the residents in several homes located across the street from the airport, evacuated as a precaution until the package was determined to be harmless, he said.
– Joanne Degnan

