Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Pittsburgh International Airport detected a third gun within a four-day span from Friday, Oct. 14, through Monday, Oct. 17.
A loaded .40 caliber handgun was spotted in a Canonsburg, Pa., man’s backpack at a security checkpoint yesterday, Monday, Oct. 17. The good catch came on the heels of TSA detecting a loaded handgun in the carry-on bag of a Pittsburgh, Pa., man on Friday, Oct. 14, and another loaded gun on Saturday, Oct. 15, in the carry-on bag of Colorado man.
In each instance TSA officers notified the Allegheny County Police who confiscated the weapons. The incidents were not related.
When a traveler brings a gun to the airport checkpoint, the U.S. States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania requests county sheriffs to rescind a resident’s firearm concealed carry license due to negligence.
“Responsible gun owners know where their guns are at all times and they know that they are not permitted to carry them onto a flight, even if someone has a concealed carry permit,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “A permit to carry is not permission to carry a loaded gun onto a flight. Nobody should have access to any weapon while on an airplane. Now this individual faces a stiff federal financial civil penalty.”
Guns detected at Pittsburgh International Airport security checkpoints, 2017 to 2022
| Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022
(As of 10/17/22) |
| Guns caught at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoints | 32 | 34 | 35 | 21 | 32 | 21 |
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 2021, about 86 percent were loaded.
Original source can be found here.
