TSA officers at Pittsburgh International Airport detected this handgun at the airport checkpoint on Aug. 4. (TSA photo)
PITTSBURGH – Transportation Security Administration officers at Pittsburgh International Airport stopped a Fayette County, Pennsylvania, man from bringing a loaded handgun loaded with six bullets on an airplane on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
A TSA officer spotted the .380 caliber handgun on the checkpoint X-ray machine’s monitor. They detected it in his carry-on bag. TSA contacted the Allegheny County Police, which responded to the checkpoint, and confiscated the handgun. The man, a resident of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, told officials that he forgot that he had his loaded gun with him.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared at their airline ticket counter. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality.
A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $4,100. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online here: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/civil-enforcement.
TSA Firearms Caught at the Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint, 2017 to 2020
|
Year |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 (As of 8-4-20) |
|
Guns caught at the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) checkpoint |
32 |
34 |
35 |
9 |
Nationwide last year, 4,432 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints across the country, averaging about 12.1 firearms per day, approximately a 5% increase nationally in firearm discoveries from the total of 4,239 detected in 2018. Eighty-seven percent of firearms detected at checkpoints last year were loaded.
TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.