Pistol discovered under lining of carry-on bag at (CLT) |
Items
in the Strangest Places
–It’s important to check your bags prior to traveling. If a prohibited item is
discovered in your bag, you could be cited and possibly arrested by local law
enforcement. Here are a few examples from this week where prohibited items were
found in strange places.
- A 45. caliber pistol loaded with seven rounds and a round in the chamber was discovered hidden under the lining of a carry-on bag at Charlotte (CLT).
- A two inch knife was detected under the sole of a shoe at Salt Lake City (SLC).
- Two belt buckle knives were discovered this week at Fresno (FAT), and Rapid City (RAP).
- A cane sword was discovered at Baton Rouge (BTR).
Inert
Ordnance and Grenades Etc. –
We continue to find inert hand grenades and
other weaponry on weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if an item looks like a realistic bomb, grenade, mine, etc.,
it is prohibited - real or not. When these items are found at a checkpoint or
in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays. I know they are cool
novelty items, but it is best not to take them on a plane. Read here
and here on
why inert items cause problems.
- A live flash bang grenade was discovered in the checked baggage of a passenger at Northwest Florida Regional Airport (VPS). Along with the grenade were 20 rounds of improperly packaged 7.62mm ammunition. After a 42-minute evacuation, checked baggage operations resumed.
- An inert grenade was discovered in a checked bag at Las Vegas (LAS).
Powder
Horn – A powder
horn with approximately 3 ounces of black powder was discovered in a carry-on
bag at Little Rock (LIT).
DIY
Gadgets – Do it
yourself (DIY) gadgets can often look like improvised explosive devices both on
and off the X-ray monitor. Please take a moment to think about what you’re
traveling with and how it might appear to TSA. You can read here and here about why homemade gadgets can cause
problems.
- A pair of shoes with wires attached to the heels (see photo) caused some concern at LAX. It turns out the shoes are designed to store energy.
- An odd item was discovered in checked baggage at Newark (EWR). It was a piece of cardboard folded in half with Styrofoam in the middle attached with wires to aluminum foil on the ends. Turns out it was a contact switch for surveillance video.
What
Not to Say at an Airport – Statements
like these not only delay the people who said them but can also inconvenience
many other passengers if the checkpoint or terminal has to be evacuated:
- A passenger at Miami (MIA) told the ticketing representative that he had a bag full of dynamite. Five flights were delayed for a total of 4 hours, 56 minutes affecting 1,027 passengers. The passenger was arrested on a state charge.
- After a gate agent at Orlando (MCO) informed a passenger she could not get her checked luggage out of the plane, the passenger stated: “Well what if I had put a bomb in it? Can I get it back then?”
Stun
Guns – Six
stun guns were discovered this week in a carry-on bags around the nation: Atlanta
(ATL), Harlingen (HRL), Orlando (MCO), Denver (DEN), Baltimore (BWI), San
Francisco (SFO), San Jose (SJC), and Jacksonville (JAX)
Miscellaneous
Prohibited Items -
In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our Officers
also regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb and
pellet guns, Airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons, and a lot of
sharp pointy things -- to mention a few…
Firearms
- Here are
pictures of some of the firearms our Officers found in carry-on baggage since I
posted last Friday. See a complete list below.
You
can travel with your firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be
declared to the airline.
You
can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should
familiarize themselves with state and local firearm laws for each point of
travel prior to departure.
Unfortunately
these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about
these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are
finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the
throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up
with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. This is a friendly reminder
to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on
an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law
enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had
these items.
If
you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you
can contact us by clicking here.