A Harrisburg woman who attempted to carry-on a loaded .357 caliber handgun on her flight Thursday departing from Harrisburg International Airport was charged with a weapons charge and disorderly conduct.
Transportation Security Administration officers caught the Smith and Wesson revolver when she was going through security. It was spotted when her bags entered the checkpoint X-ray machine. The gun had five bullets in it.
Susquehanna Area Regional Airport Authority Police responded and cited the woman, according to a Harrisburg International Airport Police statement.
An investigation revealed that the passenger met all the legal requirements for carrying a concealed firearm. Authorities cited her with disorderly conduct “because the passenger created public inconvenience and alarmed other members of the public that were present at the time the firearm was discovered.”
Law enforcement neither confirmed her name nor confirmed that she departed on her scheduled flight, according to the airport security’s statement.
"Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared,” the statement continued. “Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, loaded, and packed separately from ammunition. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality.”
Anyone who attempts to bring a firearm to the airport could face criminal charges.
"Even travelers with concealed firearm permits are not allowed to bring guns onto airplanes in their carry on bags,” the statement reported. "If an individual is a TSA Pre-check member, that person could lose TSA Pre-check status.
Civil penalties for weapons violations can be assessed up to $13,333, according to the Transportation Security Administration. The first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint usually costs $4,000.
Airport security discovered 4,239 firearms in carry-on bags at checkpoints last year, which equates to about 11.6 firearms per day, approximately a 7 percent increase nationally in firearm discoveries from the total of 3,957 detected in 2017, the airport’s statement explained.
Eighty-six percent of firearms detected at a checkpoint last year were loaded and nearly 34 percent had bullet in the chamber, transportation security administration reported.