At another time, the story of a man shipping himself home in an episode dubbed the "Crate Escape" would be seen as funny.
But on the eve of the second anniversary of the 11 September attacks, few Americans are laughing.
The success of homesick Charles McKinley who sent himself by air freight from New York to his parents' home in Texas to save money has raised new fears about the safety of planes flying across the US.
 Protecting US ports also concerns many |
Those fears are supposed to have been addressed by measures introduced in the two years since 19 al-Qaeda members hijacked four flights and used the planes as missiles against targets in New York and Washington. But events and acknowledgements from officials show that aviation security in the US is far from airtight and people are wondering what gaps could be exploited by America's enemies.
"We have to take steps now to ensure that the next al-Qaeda terrorist does not arrive 'next day air'," said Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts.
Commentators point out that hijackers could make as much use of a cargo plane if they could access the crew as on a passenger flight where cockpit doors are now locked.
Asa Hutchinson, who oversees transportation protection in the Department of Homeland Security, said the McKinley incident was a concern, adding that priorities had been given to passenger not cargo planes.
He told the ABC network that there simply were not as many screeners working to check what is loaded on cargo flights as there are for planes carrying people. "We have to do more inspections and tighten it up more," he said.
"We're working aggressively for that, but we understand that we have to protect that cargo as well as the passengers."
The safety of the US' massive transportation network has been a continuing source of problems and alarms in the two years since the 11 September attacks killed more than 3,000 people.
'Much accomplished, much to do'
A Senate committee hearing just hours before the McKinley story became national news focused on transport safety.
Committee chairman Senator John McCain opened that meeting by saying: "Much has been accomplished over the last two years and I think many would agree that transportation security is at its highest level ever, particularly aviation security.
"However, we need to remain vigilant across all modes of transportation, for the threat to our country has not waned."
Senator McCain noted that budget constraints had actually forced the Transportation Security Administration - formed after the 11 September attacks - to cut the number of screeners working at airports. He also expressed concern about the safety of US ports, particularly given the vast size of the maritime industry.
Senator Bob Graham, who is hoping to become the Democrat challenger to President Bush next year, said port security concerned him even more than the situation in the skies.
"Ships unload 16,000 cargo containers in the United States every day. Those typically are packed at remote sites, come to the United States uninspected," he said on the CBS TV network.
"Once they get here, less than 3% are physically inspected to see what the contents are. If I were a terrorist and wanted to get a weapon of mass destruction in the United States, my method of first choice would be a ship-borne cargo container."
The US has touted the successes it has had - such as last month's international sting operation which prosecutors say caught an arms dealer hoping to import weapons just as Mr Graham described.
But events - even those with a comic element like the McKinley episode - continue to demonstrate what Senator Frank Lautenberg called the almost incomprehensible magnitude of trying to secure a US transport network which includes 3.9 million miles of roads, 600,000 bridges, 361 ports and more than 5,000 public-use airports.
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We have to do more inspections and tighten it up more 
