Four things that don't belong on an airplane

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Four things that don't belong on an airplane

     Thirteen years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, you would think everyone knows better than to bring a weapon on an airplane. Yes, surely any sane person realizes that the taxpayer-funded X-ray screening equipment at every airport must be doing something.

      But on June 4, the Transportation Security Administration confiscated 18 guns carried by passengers headed for flights around the country, according to the administration’s blog. This broke a previous record for guns confiscated in a single day –13 – set in 2013.  Indeed, during the first week of June, 47 firearms were discovered, and “of the 47 firearms, 36 were loaded and 10 had rounds chambered,” the TSA blog reported.
      So for the record: Weapons aren’t allowed in carry-on luggage. The TSA has a chart of weapons that can be packed in checked luggage. The agency also offers instructions for anyone traveling with weapons.
      For a fascinating, yet chilling, account of weapons that passengers attempted to bring on board, read the TSA blog. Here are some examples:
  • Grenades:  Apparently, some of our fellow passengers don’t understand that the sight of a grenade can make most normal folk lose their orange juice and mixed nuts.  “We continue to find inert hand grenades and other weaponry on a weekly basis,” the blog reports. “Please keep in mind that if an item looks like a real bomb, grenade, mine, etc., it is prohibited. When these items are found at a checkpoint or in checked baggage, they can cause significant delays because the explosives detection professionals must resolve the alarm to determine the level of threat.”   
  • Credit-card knives: These knives are the size of a credit card and can be concealed in a wallet.  While it is possible that passengers have forgotten they have knives with them, it is also unsettling: It means that on a daily basis these people walk around with knives tucked into their wallets – just in case. The TSA discovered 45 credit-card knives at checkpoints during the first week of June.
  • Stun guns: Some people carry these for protection, but for obvious reasons, they aren’t allowed on airplanes. The TSA found 14 stun guns in carry-on bags that same week.
  • Scary looking things: In the category of other things that don't belong on an airplane: “firearm components, realistic replica firearms, bb and pellet guns, Airsoft guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons and a lot of sharp pointy things,” the blog said. (Airsoft guns shoot plastic pellets.  Even though most have orange tips, they look realistic on X-ray machines.)

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