Friday, September 21, 2012

TSA Week in Review: 6 lbs. of Black Powder, Detonation Cords, and Timing Fuse Discovered in Colorado

Black Powder and Other Items Discovered During Bag Search – While resolving an explosives alarm at Grand Junction (GJT),TSA Officers discovered three - 2 lb. cans of black powder, detonation cords, and a timing fuse. The passenger stated he was transportingproperty from his father’s home, which was usedto remove tree stumps.

Non Metallic Knife Discovered With Body Scanner – A non metallic knife was discovered in the ankle area of a Houston (IAH) passenger. The knife was found during a pat-down after being detected by a body scanner.

Inert Grenades Etc. – We continue to find inerthand grenades and other weaponry on weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if an itemlooks like a bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited - real or not. When these items are found at a checkpoint, they can cause significant delays. I know they are cool novelty items, but it is best not to take them on a plane. Read here and here on why inert items cause problems.

  • A Mark 24 shock tube initiator used to detonate explosives was discovered during a bag search at San Diego (SAN).
  • Three inert grenades were discovered this week: Two at San Francisco (SFO) and one at Norfolk (ORF).
  • An inert 20 mm round was discovered at San Francisco (SFO).




Items in the Strangest Places –It’s important to check your bags prior to traveling. If a prohibited item is discovered in your bag, you could be cited and possibly arrested by locallaw enforcement. Here are a few examples from this week where prohibited items were found in strange places.

  • A .22 caliber magazine was discovered wrapped in aluminum foil inside a DVD player at Fresno (FAT).
  • Sharper vision? A knife was discovered inside a box of contact lenses at Milwaukee (MKE).
  • A cane sword was discovered at Albuquerque (ABQ).

Stun Guns – Five stun guns were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints around the nation: Akron (CAK), San Francisco (SFO), New York Kennedy (JFK), Birmingham (BHM), and Denver (DEN)


Miscellaneous Prohibited Items - In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our Officers also regularly find firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb and pellet guns, Airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons, and a lot of sharp pointy things--to mention a few…

Firearms - Here are pictures of some of the firearms our Officers found in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday. See a complete list below.








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 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. 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 ntentions, that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.

Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team

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Posted by Bob Burns (TSA Blog Team) at 9/21/2012 04:01:00 PM

The TSA Blog: TSA Week in Review: 6 lbs. of Black Powder, Detonation Cords, and Timing Fuse Discovered in Colorado