MADISON, WI – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers stopped a man from carrying a loaded pistol onto his flight at Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) on Monday, Apr. 26. This is the third firearm detected at MSN this year.
On Monday around 5 p.m., a TSA officer detected a loaded .9mm pistol along with two magazines in the passenger’s carry-on bag during security screening. TSA immediately alerted a Dane County Sheriff who took possession of the firearm and arrested the St. Louis, Missouri, resident for carrying a concealed weapon. The man was heading to Minneapolis.
“Airport security checkpoints at MSN and across Wisconsin are seeing significant increases in the number of departing travelers. Despite these increases, we continue to focus on our core security mission to keep travelers safe and secure,” said Mark Lendvay, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Wisconsin.
A total of nine firearms have been detected at TSA security checkpoints in Wisconsin this year.
If a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges. TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. TSA may seek a penalty amount of up to $13,910 per violation, if there are aggravating factors. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because even though an individual may have a concealed carry permit, it does not allow for a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online.
Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed separately from ammunition in a locked hardback case and declared at the airline check-in counter.
TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Travelers should also contact their airline as they may have additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
###