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Courtesy Department of Homeland Security
Transportation Security Administration screeners recently discovered three throwing knives in the carry-on bag of a passenger at the Baltimore aiport.
Should you pack your gun, your grenade or your carving knife in a carry-on bag when you go to the airport?
Definitely not, but apparently a number of people do.
According to a recent post on the Transportation Security Administration’s blog, TSA officers have found more than 800 firearms in carry-on bags this year.
And that number doesn’t include the countless knives that still show up at airport security checkpoints daily — it’s so many that the TSA doesn’t even keep count — or the many inert grenades that passengers try to take home as souvenirs.
Last week, for example, a passenger at the Orlando International Airport showed up with three pistols — a .25-caliber, a .40-caliber semiautomatic and a .357-caliber revolver — in a bag that also contained loose ammunition and a loaded magazine. In Baltimore, the TSA recently found three throwing knives in the carry-on bag of a Mexico-bound traveler. And on Monday, TSA officers at New York’s Albany International Airport discovered a loaded gun in the purse of a woman heading to Detroit.
The two passengers with guns were arrested; the traveler with the knives was cited, and his weapons were confiscated.
It’s unlikely that passengers plan to use their weapons during flight, but it's difficult to know for sure since people often respond to TSA questioning by saying, “I forgot that it was in my bag.”
Given how frequently illicit weapons are discovered, Overhead Bin asked TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein for advice on the proper way to fly with firearms.
Farbstein said fliers may transport firearms, ammunition and firearm parts in their checked baggage even though those items are prohibited from carry-on baggage.
“Basically, travelers must declare all firearms, ammunition, and parts to the airline during the ticket counter check-in process,” Farbstein said. “The firearm must be unloaded and it must be in a hard-sided container [and] the container must be locked.”
You can read more about traveling on airplanes with guns, firearms, knives and other weapons on the TSA's website, but Farbstein adds that “airlines may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition. Therefore, travelers should also contact the airline regarding firearm and ammunition carriage policies.”
Or maybe, just plan to leave your weapons at home.
Have a travel-related question you’d like answered? Overhead Bin will track it down. Send us your question.
More on Overhead Bin
- Q&A: Snow globes at the airport security checkpoint
- Q&A: TSA's new kid-friendly checkpoints
- Q&A: How to get your duty-free purchase home
Find more by Harriet Baskas on Stuck at The Airport.com and follow her on Twitter.
Leave a Comment:
I travel lightly and only carry my Gatlin gun when flying.
To quote a great man ...." Stupid is as stupid does."
Guns, knives, Grenades; sounds like what you find find in a forgetfull Texan's carry on bags...No harm intended, just a cultural thing down here. Heck, if a horse could fit in the plane, he could come along with his beer...
No excuse really. Just adds weight to the perception people have of Texans as troglodytes.
Yeah, just add in a confederate flag and a noose and you've got the whole Tejano flight kit.
Howdy! Come On Down, Y'All! It's obvious being well armed keeps that Al Qaeda guy away!! Everything BUT Terrorists crosses the Border, but No Terrorists!!
Remember 9-11 when ya take off your Tony Lamas at the TSA line.
Peace Y'All
lol - I'm not sure exactly whom you were making fun of, but it was funny regardless, notsojingo.
Good one.
Picture Robin Williams performing the character, Tex Toast. It could be the Role Of A Lifetime!
Glad you liked it!
Peace
Hand grenades don't kill. People with hand grenades kill.
If you get caught with a grenade anywhere you are going to prison for a long time. And you are just stupid if you bring a travel gun or knife.
Grenades don't kill. People with grenades kill.
Notice they specified that these were inert "souvenir" grenades. An old manager of mine had one mounted on a plaque. The pin had a plastic tag with the number 1 on it. The plaque read: "Take a Number."
Where grenades are outlawed, only outlaws will have grenades.
Blame it on the constitution!
None of those weapons posed a threat to the aircraft, since none of the people carrying them intended to use them to take over the plane. How do I know this? Because if there were any terrorists at all, they would be acting against us in other ways: mall attacks, water supply poisoning, shoulder-fired missiles at planes, or bombing the long unprotected lines of people waiting in front of the TSA checkpoint. Face it, there aren't any terrorists in the U.S. trying to attack civilians. Every "foiled plot" turns out to have been concocted by the FBI to entrap some mentally ill sad-sack loser. There are no more than a few dozen alQaeda members left in the world, and they live in caves ten thousand miles away. It's time to stop cowering in fear like a bunch of thumb-sucking four-year-olds.
However, the TSA's incompetence and malice DO pose a threat to travelers. You are far less safe because the TSA exists. The TSA is exposing children and pregnant women to ionizing radiation in untested machines. The TSA forces you to leave your bags vulnerable to tampering, and hundreds of screeners have been arrested for stealing your valuables. The TSA takes braces, crutches, and wheelchairs away from people who are unstable on their feet, and forces them to stand in precarious poses where they're liable to fall and injure themselves. The TSA confiscates life-saving medicine like insulin. The TSA re-traumatizes rape survivors, inflicting unwelcome sexual touching on innocent women and children. The TSA's distasteful mistreatment of travelers causes people to choose less safe modes of travel like driving or buses, resulting in 1000 or more excess deaths per year. The TSA is a huge boondoggle, incompetent and inhumane, and its pathetic power-plays threaten our lives and our well-being every day.
Was that the cover letter of your ACLU resume?
I don't know what's more frightening: The implication that you think people should be allowed to carry weapons onto an aircraft since no one intends to "use them to take over the plane" or that you actually believe the rest of your post.
Every sentence in your post is complete, utter nonsense. Where do you come up with junk like that?
I actually agree 100% with your post Annapolis-2542327. I have been saying since the beginning that TSA is a joke. If someone wanted to do harm as "terrorists" (loose term these days) in this country, all they would have to do is group up with about a dozen buddies and blow up structural supports at any major airport. Think I'm nuts; image the following scenario. A van with no windows pulls up to the parking lot of a major airport, a dozen people climb out, walk into the airport main terminal with bombs strapped to their chests and stand next to structural columns in the building. Why take a plane down when you can clean out an entire airport terminal during a busy time of the day (maybe even the holidays). Not so crazy; it's actually very easy to accomplish. Would you criticizing nut jobs like me to prove it to you? I didn't think so. Don't argue with engineers, we always look for new challenges to accomplish!
I don't think you can destroy structural supports just by standing next to them. In the demolition specials I've seen, they have to strap the explosives around the support in several areas so the blast is directed inwards. Just standing next to it would damage it, but I don't think it would collapse.
I'll respond and speak on behalf Christopher J Maier.
There NOT standing next to it, now there hugging it .................. lmao
Annapolis-2542327, you are clearly mentally unstable and I'm sure have a personal arsenal. It's people like you that frighten me as much as any terrorist.
Am I the only one who wonders why we never had planes falling out of the sky from all these weapons day after day, year after year before the TSA came along? Broaden your scope of perspective. It is unlikely that people suddenly started carrying all this stuff just to spite the TSA and see if they could make it through. In fact, it should be getting reported that what the TSA has discovered, is that air travel was quite safe before, despite the abundance of weapons carried on by passengers. This should stand as a tribute to the ability of Americans to regulate their own behavior. We did just fine before the TSA came along. Imagine, if there were 800 firearms, etc. found this year alone (10 years after the TSA got created and involved), imagine how many more may have been present before. Yet not a single one of those weapons carried by the populace posed a threat, not one was used. We need to get perspective out there and get the TSA abolished.
A friend and her husband used valet parking at a restaurant and he put the gun from their car into her handbag. She went to the airport, forgetting about the gun and got arrested. It was a harrowing experience and she did spend the night in jail. There was no getting her out for awhile and then she was put on probation. Just an oversight that gave her a criminal record.
Maybe you forgot about the knife cutters which were used in 2001. Also in the 70's dozens of aircraft were hijacked
The 3,000 people who died in the twin towers might disagree, not to mention the passengers of the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie. It just takes a couple of fruitcakes to turn an airplane into a coffin.
Actually, we didn't 'do just fine before TSA came along'. You are conveniently forgetting facts like the Lockerbire tragedy and many others.
Agreed Simbaji! (Perspective is all the difference in the world) Too bad more people in this country couldn't stop being so negative all the time and see what we see. A big plane is nothing more than a bus with wings. Does Greyhound stop folks to check for weapons before you ride across country? No! Does Amtrak stop folks to check for weapons before you rail across country? No! Do Toll Booths stop folks at every check point to look for weapons in personal vehicles before you drive to work, the grocery store or to pick up the kids from soccer? No!
So, if you're too damn afraid of the person next to you on the plane, get off before the plane leaves the ground and find alternate transportation. Don't ruin the convenience for everyone else because your a pussy and can't defend yourself.
AG999 and frs-1616060
The Lockerbie incident was done with a checked bag, as with almost every intentionally downed plane in the past 50 years, except those on 9/11, and there's very little to stop it from happening again if a terrorist wants to do it. The TSA is "Security Theatre" and nothing more. If terrorism is such a threat, why aren't there car bombs going off in a U.S. city every week? Where are all these boogey-men so many of you are so afraid of????
You haven't heard about the secret Al Quaeda Nuclear Ark being built in the Afghanistan Mountains and dragged through Pakistan at night that will sneak across the seas and Destroy America? Pay no mind to the US/ Mexico Border. It's impenetrable and has never been thought of as a way to enter the US by any Terrorists...
Now, Back to American Idol.
What my gun is in there, I thought I left it at home with my 7 year old.
Well, unless you believe all of these people (hundreds to thousands a year) intended to do damage to the aircraft or passengers, I think we can agree we can do without the TSA. I would much, much rather have one of those folks on my plane with their weapon to protect us if need be from terrorists than the religious rituals we go through to get on the plane that provides no protection at all.
UC Stud, you really want to be in a fire fight inside an aluminum tube at 36,000 feet under a couple atmospheres of pressure? Hey, I'm a sanguine as the next person about plane safety, but that word "rather" is pushing it. If the only two choices were 1) a pat down, or 2) an in-flight fire fight, I'd "rather" opt for the pat down.
What I'd like to see return are those airport kiosks that allowed you to buy $1 million dollar life insurance policy on a passenger for 5 bucks, with a non-flyer (maybe even the purchaser) as the benefactor. Now that really made planes safe!!
Peace, and keep your ammo dry.
You would feel safe being protected by someone who is too stupid to realize that weapons aren't allowed on airplanes? Wow.
Travelling with firearms is a Federally Protected activity. Why should you bring them? Why shouldnt you! This is America. You have a right to carry firearms for self defense and sporting purposes. Don't let some rubbish news article tell you otherwise. If you plan on travelling via aircraft, and want to bring your firearms, just do it properly and there's nothing anyone can do to stop you. The law is on the side of the firearm owning citizen.
Yeah, as long as you wear a NASCAR t-shirt you're good to go.
They bring such weaponry because they're ignorant!
Why do they bring guns and knives with them? Maybe because the city they are going to is a cesspool of crime and the police are lazy sh*theads.
Because people are retarded. No one needs a grenade on a plane period.
What part of "inert" did you miss or not interpret properly in the article? I can translate that word to stupid if you like so it's easier to understand. Inert - doesn't work because there is no explosive material or catalyst to set it off. It's a souvenir. Probably should have gone in the luggage, however.
DOH DOH, thanks for your understanding the article. Truly shows how dumb Americans are these days. Did you even read the article or just post a response based on the title?
I certainly wouldn't go to Detroit without a firearm.
Hehehe...actually...I could understand that. But then again I wouldn't even TRANSIT in Detroit. That place reminds me of 'Escape from New York'. If you feel you need a firearm, you are in the wrong place.
Agreed, maybe even two hand guns. One for the drivers window and one for the passenger's window. Too bad TSA agents have never been to Detroit (at least the ones that don't live there). Then they would understand perfectly well.
And people say texting and driving is dangerous! This could create a whole new craze!!
Because they're effing morons trying to be freedom flyers
What are you kidding its our rights that have been stripped away!!!!
Simple as that.
I get the knives because I do carry an pocket knife but guns and grenades come on people
So, you're too dumb to realize that knives aren't allowed on planes either? You do know that the terrorists used box cutters on 9/11? Just checking...
I know knives aren't allowed on planes I was just saying I can understand the knives that some time people forget there carrying them for me it's second nature to have an pocket knife with me.
I agree with Steve. I once accidentally had a rather large pocket knife in my computer bag. I honestly didn't know it was there and had been looking for it for about six months. I should have done a better job of checking my bag at home before taking it to the airport. All I can say for that knife is I hope TSA gave it to someone who could use it to keep safe against predators. Better than throwing it away.
@!$%# happens and life goes on!
Send the special instructions to the hooligans living in useless Republican states. They're crazy humans, and are deeply bored with their intimate lives.
People who carry guns and grenades on planes are complete idiots, and I would have no problem telling them that to their faces if they are trying to get on my plane. Of course, I no longer fly because you never know when an idiot is going to bring gun on the plane and get away with it. The TSA has failed to detect these things repeatedly, and this is why what they are doing is pure security theater, nothing more. Move along now folks, nothing to see here. Ignore that man behind the curtain.
Not only should they be arrested, but they should have their passports revoked for a certain period of time. Some people are simply too stupid to use common sense, maybe if their travel is restricted for a number of years, it'll sink in.
Imagine being dispatched to pick up your handicapped mother-in-law from her plane and forgetting one of those mini-Swiss Army knives in your handbag. Saved from having to discard it when plane personnel rolled her past me in the exit lane while I was in the TSA line. From there on I leave the thing in my drawer and never have those handy, tiny scissors when I need them. Just imagine what a terror I could be on a plane with one of those.
Well Spartan, the 911 terrorists killed 4 pilots and 4 copilots and several attendants with just a razor-blade (box cutter). In the hands of someone suicidal, violent, and trained, a small pair of scissors or miniature swiss-knife can be a formidable weapon.
Some people just think that wandering around with a loaded weapon is fine and dandy...I don't. What kind of messed up society is it that feels that it's necessary or acceptable to do so??? Most civilized countries get by fine without, what makes it such a must have in the US?
maybe folks oughta follow the guideline in The Godfather - "leave the gun, take the cannoli".
It's the rule of averages. For every hundred or so people on the planet, there is at least one idiot. Give or take. Enough people fly on planes that sooner or later someone who didn't get the memo about 9/11 is going to try to bring a weapon on board a flight. Centuries ago, there weren't as many stupid people because they had less societal protection and they died off quicker. But nowadays it's easier to stay alive even if you're stupid.
Article title" "Why do people carry guns and knives to an airport?"
Simple. Some people are just plain ignorant and do stupid things all the time. There just is no explanation for being dumb.
Some people bring running shoes and find a nice trail to run, on a business trip, or golf clubs to try a new course, others bring legal firearms to try out a nice range or shoot with a friend.. I do all of the above and never hurt anyone (well may golfing).
Yeah, but we don't know who you are. Stop being so egocentric.
I'm waiting for the reports about a woman with breast implants, each of which contained one of two part liquid explosives. (My, what knockers!)
And the TSA worries about how much shampoo I bring along.