TSA catching guns in carry ons.

[topash]

Monday at South Bend airport, TSA confiscated two loaded semi-auto pistols from the carry on bag from a person going through the scanners before boarding a plane. How do they just release these guys and not even report their names in the news reports? The South Bend Tribune article says there have been nine firearms confiscated so far this year. o

It is easy to declare your guns, check them in and legally fly with them to your destination, so why are people being so stupid?

 

[actaeon277]

TSA firearm catch rate doubles in 2020 - highest in the agency’s 19-year history | Transportation Security Administration

WASHINGTON - Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers detected twice as many firearms per million passengers screened at airport security checkpoints nationwide in 2020 compared to 2019, and at a significantly higher rate than any other year since the agency’s inception. Throughout...

www.tsa.gov

TSA officers discovered a total of 3,257 firearms on passengers or in their carry-on bags at checkpoints,

 

[Ark]

TSA firearm catch rate doubles in 2020 - highest in the agency’s 19-year history | Transportation Security Administration

WASHINGTON - Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers detected twice as many firearms per million passengers screened at airport security checkpoints nationwide in 2020 compared to 2019, and at a significantly higher rate than any other year since the agency’s inception. Throughout...

www.tsa.gov

TSA officers discovered a total of 3,257 firearms on passengers or in their carry-on bags at checkpoints,

Meaning about 100,000 people walked on and off planes with guns and weren't caught...

Hot take, there is nothing inherantly dangerous or improper about CCW on a plane any more than walking down the sidewalk or riding the bus.

 

[Mgderf]

I thought it was TSA's job to check for, and confiscate the weapons not declared.
So why is this news?

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I would suggest the majority of them are people who forgot a gun in their bag. I *never* put a pistol in any luggage that I also use for flying. Same with ammunition. Partly because I don't want to run the risk of loose ammunition or the like still being in the bag when I go to fly and also because, having worked explosives detection, I know that gun powder residue can trigger false positives for explosives.

Not all luggage gets swabbed, but I've seen my carry on swabbed before. If you carry a lot of electronics, that increases the chances of swabbing, it appears.

 

[Leadeye]

When you go south of the border, even having one loose round in a corner of your baggage gets you jail time. I kept my southern trip suitcases sterile.

 

[BigRed]

I take any stories re: what tsa does of any use with a large grain of salt.

 

[jwamplerusa]

TSA, security theater in is highest form.

 

[Paul30]

My bet is it will increase a lot. Odds are most of them were found in womens purses. Grandma put a .22 revolver in her purse decades ago and it stayed there for decades. Most who carry this way never give it a 2nd thought, because they don't plan to misuse them. They carry that purse everywhere they go and never give it a thought. Grandma never had a carry permit that I know of, but carried it from around 1958 until she died. Now that constitutional carry has passed, I would expect the number of women that throw a gun in their purse and forget about them will skyrocket. They will not think about it when they fly out to see grandma in Florida for the weekend.

 

[KLB]

so why are people being so stupid?

Because they are stupid. It's nothing new.

 

[BigRed3588]

I hate to admit it, but I’ve been down this road. My dad borrowed one of my 1911s but didn’t have a designated range bag, so he took it to the range in a backpack. When I gave it to him, it had a 10rd CM mag and spare loaded with critical duty rounds. A month or so later we were coming back to Indiana for Christmas and I didn’t pack ahead of time. We were in a hurry so I got to his place and threw some random items in the same backpack without checking all the pockets. I went through TSA and the bag got flagged, so I just assumed it was my electronic cigarette. Next thing I know, TSA, PBSO, and DHS are on scene asking me if I had a firearm in my baggage. Turns out my dad had put the CM mag/spare back and I had a loaded Sig Nightmare in my carry on.

The charges were eventually dropped and I got the gun back after threatening to sue PBSO, but I learned the hard way it’s an easier mistake to make than one might think.

 

[cg21]

I would rather drive to alaska than fly on a plane mainly for this reason. Why do I need my gun locked away on a plane it makes no sense at all. Also I feel it is a gross process going through the security screening getting groped as a law abiding citizen.

so look what they did to security at airports after 9/11 now let’s compare to what they are doing in schools after a shooting……….. weird.

 

[hpclayto]

When you go south of the border, even having one loose round in a corner of your baggage gets you jail time. I kept my southern trip suitcases sterile.

I somehow forgot I had downloaded my mags out of my backpack when I went to the range like 10 years ago. Fly down to Mexico and am unloading my luggage out of the back of the shuttle to the resort and found a loose 9mm round. Thought hmm, that’s weird. Then I found the other 30 loose rounds that had been in my carry on the whole time. Not sure how I made it out unscathed.

 

[xwing]

I would rather drive to alaska than fly on a plane mainly for this reason. Why do I need my gun locked away on a plane it makes no sense at all. Also I feel it is a gross process going through the security screening getting groped as a law abiding citizen.

so look what they did to security at airports after 9/11 now let’s compare to what they are doing in schools after a shooting……….. weird.

Actually, that's much worse. Flying to Alaska, you can load up and carry as soon as you leave the airport. Driving, you can't bring any gun at all due to the crazy Canadian laws. (With some difficulty and effort you can bring an unloaded non-tactical rifle, but that's it.) Years ago, I really wanted to drive to Alaska but ended up flying after finding there was no legal way for me to bring a handgun through Canada (even unloaded, etc...) And they've gotten even worse since then.

Legally flying with a gun is no big deal; just a minor additional effort and a little more time while you wait for TSA to inspect it.

 

[cg21]

Actually, that's much worse. Flying to Alaska, you can load up and carry as soon as you leave the airport. Driving, you can't bring any gun at all due to the crazy Canadian laws. (With some difficulty and effort you can bring an unloaded non-tactical rifle, but that's it.) Years ago, I really wanted to drive to Alaska but ended up flying after finding there was no legal way for me to bring a handgun through Canada (even unloaded, etc...) And they've gotten even worse since then.

Legally flying with a gun is no big deal; just a minor additional effort and a little more time while you wait for TSA to inspect it.

on my route I am skipping Canada, going to take the ferry.

 

[jsx1043]

Hot take, there is nothing inherantly dangerous or improper about CCW on a plane any more than walking down the sidewalk or riding the bus.

I have to have a slight disagreement on the “danger” aspect. Having been trained on aircraft assault, hostage rescue and flying while armed with the Air Marshals, there’s a lot of hydraulic, air, water and electrical sensor lines that run above and below the passenger compartment. Taking one of those out with a stray round does not make for a good day. While the movies would have us believe that a bullet hole through the window will blow out the whole side of the fuselage, that is not the case. Firing inside of aircraft loaded with passengers is very much a “make your shots” count situation. There’s not a whole lot of room for error.

 

[xwing]

on my route I am skipping Canada, going to take the ferry.

Interesting idea. But doesn't the ferry stop in Canada? And I bet they have "no firearms" rules either way

 

[cg21]

Interesting idea. But doesn't the ferry stop in Canada? And I bet they have "no firearms" rules either way

there Are different stops you can choose from. Suppose I would have to look into their firearm policy further. Wouldn’t seem to be good business not allowing firearms traveling to a hunting destination.

 

[xwing]

there Are different stops you can choose from. Suppose I would have to look into their firearm policy further. Wouldn’t seem to be good business not allowing firearms traveling to a hunting destination.

Out of curiosity, I looked it up. Similar rules to an airplane:
Travel Policies - Alaska State Highway (Ferry):
Firearms, and ammunition transported in vehicles must be declared, and stowed in suitable locked compartments i.e., locked trunk, locked vehicle. Walk-on Passengers wishing to transport a firearm must surrender any and all firearms (and ammunition) to the custody of the Loading Officer or Purser for the duration of the passage.
Ticketed persons and vehicles entering an Alaska Marine Highway System facility, or boarding an AMHS vessel are subject to screening and/or inspections.

But what is really crazy is the price. Just for fun, I price compared:
Flying from Indy --> Anchorage for 3 people - $3500 round trip
Taking the ferry with 3 people and a car - $11,000 round trip
and that doesn't include the cost to get from Indiana to the northwest tip of Washington.

It seemed like a good idea until I got to that part. It would probably be kinda fun, but not $11k fun...

 

[Ark]

I have to have a slight disagreement on the “danger” aspect. Having been trained on aircraft assault, hostage rescue and flying while armed with the Air Marshals, there’s a lot of hydraulic, air, water and electrical sensor lines that run above and below the passenger compartment. Taking one of those out with a stray round does not make for a good day. While the movies would have us believe that a bullet hole through the window will blow out the whole side of the fuselage, that is not the case. Firing inside of aircraft loaded with passengers is very much a “make your shots” count situation. There’s not a whole lot of room for error.

While I definitely don't want to be the "it's perfectly fine to crank off shots in a pressurized aircraft" guy, it's hardly the only context for very high consequence shooting. Is a full subway car much different?

Airliners are built with sufficient redundancy that there should be virtually no location you can place a 9mm and result in catastrophic loss of the entire aircraft. But yes it is probably at the top of the pyramid for "no-fail shot" and that's why I would be highly motivated to seek an alternate response.