Bethel Park man tried to take gun onto flight a 2nd time at Pittsburgh Airport, TSA says

A Bethel Park man was caught — for a second time — trying to take a loaded gun onto a flight at Pittsburgh International Airport Friday.

The man was stopped by Transportation Security Administration officers with a .380 caliber handgun loaded with six bullets among his carry-on items. He did not have a valid permit to carry a firearm.

The man was also caught with a gun in 2014.

The catch brings the total number of guns caught at the airport’s checkpoints to seven so far in the first eight weeks of the new year.

“When stopped by our officers, this man admitted up front that he had previously been caught with a gun in his carry-on bag several years ago,” said airport TSA Federal Security Director Karen Keys-Turner. “Obviously, he did not learn his lesson. His irresponsibility resulted in his needlessly introducing an unnecessary risk into the airport environment and as a result he will face a very stiff Federal financial penalty that will likely cost him thousands of dollars, especially since this was the second time that he violated the firearms policy.”

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms only in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided locked case. Then the locked case should be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared. TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.

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