By now you may know about the 65-year-old woman who boarded an American Airlines flight at Dallas/Fort Worth International Jan. 18 carrying a .38 revolver (it caused quite a stir). She says she had forgotten the weapon was in her handbag.

The Transportation Security Administration detected the pistol in a carry-on after the woman had already left the security checkpoint and headed for her flight. They had a picture of her from closed circuit TV and were able to eventually find her.

Far more common, it appears, are instances in which TSA discovers bad stuff at the checkpoint and doesn’t let the possessor get any farther. Consider the haul for the week of Jan. 16 – Jan. 20:

• TSA discovered 1.5 pounds of methamphetamines secreted in a game console and DVR during checked baggage screening at Los Angeles International Airport.
• TSA officers found a 12” Bowie knife in a carry-on bag in Austin. There were a quartet of other knives as well.
• Screeners spied a 3” straight razor concealed in the lining of a passenger’s backpack in Buffalo.

And that doesn’t even count the firearms they found. On Jan. 16 alone TSA officers discovered:

• A loaded 9mm pistol, replete with a chambered round, at Washington Dulles International.
• A similarly loaded .380 pistol, also with a chambered bullet.
• An unloaded .357 magnum in Denver.
• A loaded .357 in Fort Lauderdale.
• A loaded .357 (popular pistol apparently) at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the planet’s busiest airport.

Surprised? TSA isn’t. Its blog labels this sort of thing “all too frequent, which is why we talk about these finds.” The blog goes on to say, “Each time we find a dangerous item, the [screening] 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.”

Know the rules before you fly. No guns in carry-ons. Period. You can fly firearms in checked baggage, but only after you tell the airline about it.

Did this one-day’s weapon’s take by TSA surprise you? Tell us how well you think security is working.

Story by Jerry Chandler

(Image: mrbill)

airline safety, tsa