TSA appears to have dropped the ball today when a gun that was identified by a TSA agent at a DFW check point was able to make its way onto a plane. They shut down the checkpoint but oops, they forgot to shut down the terminal.
Before they shut down the checkpoint, the un-identified lady left the with her .38 caliber handgun and headed to American Airlines flight 2385 to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The plane was eventually called back to the gate. But atleast 90 minutes passed by before the woman was in custody.
DFW Airport Statement
Operations at DFW Airport are back to normal this morning after a search for a person who made it through a TSA checkpoint with a weapon.
DFW Airport Department of Public Safety responded to a call from the TSA at 6:19AM, regarding a checkpoint investigation. The TSA was requesting assistance in locating a person in need of secondary screening who was not detained at the D-26 checkpoint.
DPS officers swept all five terminals in searching for the person, concentrating efforts on Terminal D. Around 8:00 AM, the subject was found aboard an American Airlines aircraft parked at Gate D31, after the aircraft had been called back to the gate for inspection.
The passenger, a 65-year old white female, was found to be in possession of a .38 caliber revolver, located in her handbag.
DPS officers placed her in custody, and she will be charged with Places Weapons Prohibited, a third degree felony in the State of Texas.
A total of 10 flights were delayed an average of 20-25 minutes during the incident, and Skylink trains bypassed Terminal D during the search.
All operations have returned to normal.
TSA Statement
At approximately 6:20 a.m. CST, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Officers at Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport checkpoint D-30 detected a firearm in a carry-on bag. The owner of the bag left the checkpoint before the screening process was complete and prior to surrendering the firearm. To ensure the safety of the traveling public, TSA worked with local law enforcement to locate the passenger and firearm before the plane departed. The passenger in question was taken into custody by Dallas Police and normal operations have resumed.
Bottom Line
TSA completely missed the boat on this one.
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The Weekly Flyer writes about travel from a business traveler perspective. He travels the world every week accumulating points and miles along the way.
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The TSA statement is wrong. The Dallas police have no jurisdiction. DFW Airport has its own police force and they took the woman into custody.
So they give her the handbag back and she just walks away? Not even a chase? WOW-Priceless.
Looking at this carefully, I suspect there baggage scans/images are pipped to a separate location for review by a second pair of eyeballs.
Once again TSA is picking on old people. In my opinion, TSA made a bigger mistake than the old lady. Opops we screwed up, now you go to jail.
What? Let’s find out how the woman – and her gun – got past the initial security check point where is was identified. TSA fucks up – again. They make safe flyers miserable, but pass a woman with a .38 in her purse? You must be kidding – but I know that you’re not. TSA is idiots, managed by superior idiots. Period.
but yet, they confiscate cupcakes with no problems at all! *rolleyes*