PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Transportation Security Administration on Friday stopped another loaded handgun from being taken onto a plane at the Portland International Jetport.
A Hampden man tried to board a plane with a 9 mm handgun loaded with 12 bullets, the agency said. The man told officials he did not know he had his loaded gun in his backpack.
It was the first gun caught at the security checkpoint this year at the Portland International Jetport.
But there were a spate of similar incidents over the past couple of months.
TSA caught three guns at the airport checkpoint last year, including one just last month. Loaded handguns were nabbed on back-to-back days in late October.
In the latest case, airport police confiscated the gun and detained the man for questioning. His wife drove to the airport to pick up the gun and take it home, according to TSA.
Passengers are allowed to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared.
Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition.
(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)