Friday, February 15, 2013

TSA Week in Review: Concealed Non-Metallic Dagger Discovered Using Advanced Imaging Technology at SLC

Dagger (SLC)

Concealed Non-Metallic Dagger - A dagger was discovered on a passenger at Salt Lake City (SLC) after he alarmed Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT). During the pat-down, a plastic dagger was found hanging by fishing line around his neck and under his shirt.
Discovered in a Carry-on Bag at DSM

30 Firearms Discovered This Week – Of the 30 firearms, 26 were loaded and 11 had rounds chambered. Here are pictures of some of the firearms. See a complete list and more photos at the bottom of this post.

Flare Gun (MDW)

Flare Gun – A passenger at Midway (MDW) had a flare gun and four flares in his carry-on bag. You know, if you want to signal a flight attendant, there is a little button above your head. You don’t need a flare gun. Flares and flare guns are prohibited items.

Inert Ordnance and Grenades Etc. – We continue to find inerthand grenades and other weaponry on weekly basis. Please keep in mind that if an itemlooks like a realistic bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited - real or not. When these items are found at a checkpoint or in checked baggage, 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.

PHX Novelty Bomb


  • Two novelty bombs looking like something Wile E. Coyote would lob at the Roadrunner were discovered at Phoenix (PHX).


  • Six inert/novelty/replica grenades were discovered this week: Two at Omaha (OMA), two at Las Vegas (LAS), and one each at Asheville (AVL), and Denver (DEN).




Stun Guns – Nine stun guns were discovered this week in carry-on bags around the nation: Two were discovered at Minot (MOT), and the rest were found at Baltimore (BWI), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Denver (DEN), Fayetteville (FAY), Manchester (MHT), Sacramento (SMF), and San Diego (SAN).

What Not to Say at an Airport – Statements like these not only delay the people who said them but can also inconvenience many other passengers if the checkpoint or terminal has to be evacuated:

  • An individual approached a general aviation ramp at Knox County Airport (RKD) and stated that aircraft were buzzing his house and if it did not stop, he was going to shoot one down.


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…

Fireworks Discovered at MYR

Firearms Discovered This Week





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. The passenger can face a penalty as high as $7,500.00. 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, I compile my data from a preliminary report. The year-end numbers will vary slightly (increase) from what I report in the weekly updates. However, any monthly, midyear, or end-of-year numbers TSA provides on this blog or elsewhere will not be estimates.

If you haven’t seen it yet, make sure you check out our post highlighting the dangerous, scary, and downright unusual items our officers found in 2012.

Bob Burns
TSA Blog Team

If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us by clicking here.

http://blog.tsa.gov/2013/02/tsa-week-in-review-concealed-non.html