TSA officers prevented a traveler from carrying this loaded gun onto his flight at Pittsburgh International Airport on Sunday. (TSA photo)
PITTSBURGH –Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers detected a loaded handgun in the carry-on bag of a West Virginia resident at the Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoint on Sunday, June 5.
The man, a resident of nearby Wheeling, W.Va., was caught with a .22 caliber handgun loaded with five bullets.
When the TSA officer spotted the gun in the worker’s backpack, the Allegheny County Police were alerted and confiscated the gun. The man told officials that he forgot that he had his loaded gun among his carry-on items.
“If you own a firearm, you need to know where it is at all times,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “Knowing where you put your gun is part of being a responsible gun owner. Now this individual faces a stiff Federal financial civil penalty.”
TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty of up to $13,900 to individuals who bring weapons with them to a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating or aggravating circumstances. 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. If a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
Guns detected at Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoints, 2017 to 2022
|
Year |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 (As of 6/5/22) |
|
Guns caught at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoints |
32 |
34 |
35 |
21 |
32 |
10 |
Travelers are allowed to transport their firearms as checked baggage if they are properly packed and declared at their airline ticket counter to be transported in the belly of the plane with checked baggage. Checked firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and travelers should check into firearm laws before they decide to travel with their guns. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
When an individual shows up at a checkpoint with a firearm, the checkpoint lane comes to a standstill until the police resolve the incident. Guns at checkpoints delay travelers from getting to their gates.
Nationwide, TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms on passengers or their carry-on bags at checkpoints last year. Of the guns caught by TSA in 2022, about 86 percent were loaded.