CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and Cedar Rapids police prevented an Iowa man from taking a loaded pistol into the passenger cabin of an airplane Friday at the Eastern Iowa Airport.
Authorities briefly detained a Mount Pleasant man for questions before citing him. The .40 caliber handgun was loaded with 13 bullets, including one in the chamber, according to TSA officials.
TSA officials remind the public that all firearms must be unloaded, stored in a hard case and disclosed to your carrier for transportation in the plane's baggage hold.
No firearms are allowed in the passenger section of an aircraft— even to those with concealed gun carry permits.
Fines for attempting to carry a firearm onto the passenger cabin may result in a first-time fine of up to $16,700.
“This was the fourth firearm that a passenger has brought to the checkpoint so far this year,” said John Bright, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Iowa. “Last year five guns were caught at the checkpoint, so the fact that our officers have stopped four guns with a significant decrease in the number of passengers due to the pandemic is a disturbing trend.”
