12.13.2011

Loaded .380 Found Strapped To Passenger’s Ankle at DTW With Body Scanner

Saturday at DTW, a loaded .380 pistol was found strapped to the ankle of a 76-year-old man. We’ve found over 1,100 firearms this year, but what makes this one stand out from the rest is that it wasn’t found in a bag, it was found strapped to a passenger’s ankle with one of our body scanners. It’s just more proof that this technology can and will find dangerous items.

After reading comments around the web this morning, I noticed some comments stating that walk through metal detectors would have found this pistol and that they’re far less expensive than body scanners. While that’s a true statement, the walk through metal detectors cannot detect non metallic items like explosives, which are the greatest threat to aviation today. Body scanners are far more versatile and can find both metallic and non metallic concealed dangerous items. Hundreds of dangerous, prohibited, and illegal items have been found with the scanners since January 2010.

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.

http://blog.tsa.gov/2011/12/loaded-380- ... ngers.html