MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2015

TSA Week in Review: 42 Firearms Discovered This Week (30 Loaded) November 20 – 26

42 firearms were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation. Of the 42 firearms discovered, 30were loaded and 11 had a round chambered. All of the firearms pictured here were discovered this week. See a complete list below.
Four “cat eyes” were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation. At first glance, they just look like a cat keychain, but they’re actually a dangerous punching weapon. These items may be packed in your checked luggage, but never in your carry-on bag. The picture above is an example from our archives.
A flare gun and two flares were discovered in a carry-on bag at Palm Springs (PSP). Empty flare guns may be transported in checked luggage, and flares are prohibited altogether.
A reminder about bear repellant: It’s best to buy it at your destination. Bear repellent is prohibited in the cabin of an aircraft. You can pack bear repellent in your checked bag if the volume is less than four ounces and if it has less than a two percent active ingredient of either CS or CN. Most bear repellents exceed these limitations. Five canisters of bear deterrent were discovered in carry-on bags this week.
This firecracker was discovered in a carry-on bag at the Dickinson Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport (DIK). Firecrackers and all other fireworks are prohibited from both carry-on and checked bags.
Clockwise from the top, these knives were discovered in carry-on bags last week at BWI, PHX, AMA, BWI, BTM, PVD, SLC, IAH, BIL and DAL.
When packed properly, ammunition can be transported in your checked baggage, but it is never permissible to pack ammo in your carry-on bag. The ammo pictured was discovered in a carry-on bag at IAH.

In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly in carry-on bags, our officers also regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb and pellet guns, airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons, stun guns, small pocketknives and many other prohibited items too numerous to note.

You can travel with your firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline.

You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms.

Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should familiarize themselves with state and local firearm laws for each point of travel prior to departure.

Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the line is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. The passenger can face a penalty as high as $11,000. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions; that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.

*In order to provide a timely weekly update, this data is compiled from a preliminary report. The year-end numbers will vary slightly from what is reported in the weekly updates. However, any monthly, midyear or end-of-year numbers TSA provides on this blog or elsewhere will be actual numbers and not estimates.

Read our 2014 Year in Review post! If you haven’t read them yet, make sure you check out our year in review posts for 2011, 2012 and 2013.

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Bob Burns
TSA Social Media Team


Posted by Bob Burns (TSA Blog Team) at 11/30/2015 08:25:00 PM

http://blog.tsa.gov/2015/11/tsa-week...-firearms.html