Va. woman forgets she's carrying loaded gun, attempts to board flight at Reagan Airport 04/11/2023

[JohnnyE]

Back in 2013, I was in the long line waiting to get into the House Office Building in Annapolis when I realized I had my assisted opening knife and my pepper blaster in my pockets. I really did not feel like walking all the way back to my car at the stadium and then returning, so I decided to just allow my charm and good looks carry me through the security checkpoint.

Bikebreath was with me that day, and he said he would deny even knowing me when I got caught, but my Pure Heart overwhelmed the Security Theater, and my contraband went undetected.

Somehow, Western Civilization survived.

I was entering the Verizon Center in DC a few years back and discovered my pocket knife in my pocket just before going inside. I went over to a planter and discreetly removed it from my pocket and stashed the knife in a shrub, and retrieved it at the end of the event.

 

[Harrys]

Forgetting that you have a loaded gun when boarding a plane is the same as people forgetting their children in their autos and letting them die.

 

[Alutacon]

Heck, a close friend didn't clean a backpack out they were using at the range on a trip. Flew down to visit family in Florida and used her carry-on backpack for a range bag. Didn't clean it out properly and a live round was left in the bag. TSA found it. Let her board after an hour lecture. No fines (amazingly).

She has gotten stopped for enhanced screening every single time she is flown (which is generally ~twice a year). That was 15 years ago. Still happening. I have no doubt she is on a list as a result.

This is exactly why I have single purpose range bags. I have a BIL this happened to going into the Courthouse in DC. He got charged.

 

[Alutacon]

Forgetting that you have a loaded gun when boarding a plane is the same as people forgetting their children in their autos and letting them die.

I'm with you on that.

 

[RFBfromDE]

Forgetting that you have a loaded gun when boarding a plane is the same as people forgetting their children in their autos and letting them die.

I'm with you on that.

In one case there is a security violation and no dead people.

On the other you have a dead child.

No go back, get yer shinebox and work on that analogy!

 

[Alutacon]

In one case there is a security violation and no dead people.

On the other you have a dead child.

No go back, get yer shinebox and work on that analogy!

I took his point to be a little more subtle and a lot less literal than that.

 

[Threeband]

Forgetting that you have a loaded gun when boarding a plane is the same as people forgetting their children in their autos and letting them die.

No it isn't.

 

[RFBfromDE]

I took his point to be a little more subtle and a lot less literal than that.

As subtle as a dead kid.

 

[Roscoe1]

We make mistakes time to time. However , negligence as a firearms owner is not acceptable to me.

I always have awareness where I am and where my firearm is ? When I go post office I leave my gun in locked console and park across the street. When I go to get blood work at hospital I do the same, etc.

Bunch of no no locations and when you mess up the news paints a bad picture on us all .

 

[antco]

There have been plenty of small holes dug around Palco Verde NGS to stash contraband before attempting entry into the station.

 

[zx10guy]

I had a situation where I hadn't flown in a while and was on a flight post 9/11. Went through security check and didn't occur to me my multi tool was/is prohibited due to the knife and other things in it. Fortunately, the flight I was on was Virgin and the staff at the ticketing counter were awesome. Said they would hold it for me until I got back. Sure enough when I returned, they had it waiting for me.

 

[lazarus]

This is exactly why I have single purpose range bags. I have a BIL this happened to going into the Courthouse in DC. He got charged.

Ditto also.

 

[Crazytrain]

Ditto also.

It's easy to get comfortable when it becomes a daily carry item. I've been carrying daily only since last October, and already it's become something I don't think about most of the time. It's not hard to imagine simply forgetting its' there. Both a good thing and a bad thing.

 

[Gun4Fun]

It's easy to get comfortable when it becomes a daily carry item. I've been carrying daily only since last October, and already it's become something I don't think about most of the time. It's not hard to imagine simply forgetting its' there. Both a good thing and a bad thing.

Agreed while I have never walked through a security checkpoint with my handgun I have forgotten to remove my pocket knife before when going through the checkpoint at DC police headquarters. The cop at the checkpoint just laughed and I lift the knife with him for about an hour while I finished my business and picked it up on the way out.

similarly I have had unused shotguns shells in my jacket pocket left over from the previous hunting season when going to a caps game b4. Just ditched the ammo and went through the detector again and enjoyed the game.

I find if you don’t look suspicious and are nice and friendly it’s generally just a mild inconvenience, that being said I imagine it may end differently if I ever made the same mistake with my concealed carry.

 

[Checksbob]

I had a situation where I hadn't flown in a while and was on a flight post 9/11. Went through security check and didn't occur to me my multi tool was/is prohibited due to the knife and other things in it. Fortunately, the flight I was on was Virgin and the staff at the ticketing counter were awesome. Said they would hold it for me until I got back. Sure enough when I returned, they had it waiting for me.

As somebody who spent at least 1/3 of my time on the road for decades I inadvertently did exactly the same on a flight with a stop in Frankfurt. Dulles TSA missed the Leatherman in my roller bag but FRA sure didn't!

Got put into a small room to be asked the same questions umpteen times, missed my connection, and am now in the "system" as having tried to board with a bladed weapon. Between that and a previous passport replacement when in London means I still (10+ years later) get hung up for extended periods when entering a Customs area.

Obviously I am hyper-aware of what is in my bag.

 

[HiStandards]

Forgetting that you have a loaded gun when boarding a plane is the same as people forgetting their children in their autos and letting them die.

Not even close.
We have allowed govt and media to drive the fiction that anyone taking contraband through a security checkpoint is a terrorist out to hijack the plane.

 

[jc1240]

Agreed while I have never walked through a security checkpoint with my handgun I have forgotten to remove my pocket knife before when going through the checkpoint at DC police headquarters. The cop at the checkpoint just laughed and I lift the knife with him for about an hour while I finished my business and picked it up on the way out.

similarly I have had unused shotguns shells in my jacket pocket left over from the previous hunting season when going to a caps game b4. Just ditched the ammo and went through the detector again and enjoyed the game.

I find if you don’t look suspicious and are nice and friendly it’s generally just a mild inconvenience, that being said I imagine it may end differently if I ever made the same mistake with my concealed carry.

I have an off-brand Leatherman keychain style multi-tool on my keychain. Just a part of my EDC that I never think about. Adams County Sheriff Deputies reminded me when I went to pick up my PA permit. I even told them I'd go and put it in my car and they pretty much insisted I just leave it with them instead (in a good way, not the "oh I could use one of those" ways).