How it should be
An armed passenger stopped by TSA last week received concierge-style service from the Orlando Sanford International Airport Police Department.
Rather than arrest the man Friday, as is customary at the larger Orlando International Airport, cops allowed Michael Deegan to catch his flight to Ohio and held the loaded .38-caliber revolver for him while he was away.
On Monday evening, Deegan returned from Columbus and retrieved his gun. He headed home to Fort Pierce without criminal charges, unlike more than 1,000 armed passengers arrested at U.S. airports last year, according to interviews and records.
People tend to make mistakes. Good for them.
February 3rd, 2014 at 11:17 pm
All the more reason to fly into Sanford.
February 4th, 2014 at 12:06 am
Is this something that TSA is instituting as new policy, or is Deegan a Very Important Person?
February 4th, 2014 at 12:07 am
Oh, I see. It was the AIrport Police who did that, not TSA.
February 4th, 2014 at 1:10 am
Yea I hope this is a new policy but somehow I doubt it.
February 4th, 2014 at 9:44 am
TSA or Police, I’m astounded.
February 4th, 2014 at 9:59 am
“How it should be”
– No, they should just allow you to carry.
February 4th, 2014 at 10:15 am
IIRC Sanford International (right down the street from me) uses private screeners not TSA. Program introduced in 2012.
Either way, nice one SIA PD.
February 4th, 2014 at 11:38 am
I’ve said all along that the only penalty of getting caught with a prohibited item is that you are not allowed past the check point. That this case involved actually checking the item and recovering it when returning is above and beyond and kudos to them. Now how about spreading it around to other places?
For those that support carry on aircraft, you betcha’. The only requirement should be to prove you have minimally penetrating, frangible ammunition (not that a few bullet holes would be a big hazard to the cabin, movies not withstanding).
February 4th, 2014 at 7:43 pm
Someone should check before carrying on a plane (on a private plane it’s entirely legal in the U.S.) but I think frangible ammo is considered a greater risk to the plane than other types. If the ammo fragments scatter along the inside of fuselage instead of just punching a hole through it is more likely to damage wires and other stuff that might be necessary for control of the plane.
Letting some air out isn’t that big of a deal and an improvised patch on the inside would even take care of that issue.
February 5th, 2014 at 10:57 am
So, you take duct tape with you as well…