In case you were wondering if you could check your military rocket grenade launcher in your with your luggage, the answer is “no.”
According to a report on Fox News, a Florida man was caught at Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley International Airport with a military-grade rocket-propelled grenade launcher, complete with a grenade, in his luggage.
The bag triggered an alarm and was checked by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents, who found the disassembled weapon, including the barrel, trigger, sights and grenade, inside.
The man, a resident of St. Augustine, Fla., was detained by police for questioning and told the officers that the weapon was a replica and not a functioning grenade launcher.
.@TSA officers detected the unassembled parts of a military rocket propelled grenade launcher in a man’s checked bag at @FLYLVIA yesterday. When assembled, the launcher was determined to be non-functioning and the grenade an inert replica. (Thank goodness!) pic.twitter.com/hrBt5ECdpJ
— TSAmedia_LisaF (@TSAmedia_LisaF) March 5, 2019
According to the report, the man thought that he could bring the weapon in his checked luggage—and as surprising as it sounds, his confusion was warranted.
On the TSA website, it says that “realistic replicas of firearms” may be permitted in checked bags. However, it specifies that no weapons of “military nature” are permitted to be brought onto airplanes in either checked or carry-on luggage.
Passengers who violate these TSA guidelines are subject to civil penalties of up to $13,000, but the man was reportedly able to continue on his flight to Orlando without the weapon and without incurring any fines.
Unfortunately, TSA is used to finding all sorts of weapons accompanying people on their flights. In January, a traveler headed to Arizona was airlines/tsa-agents-find-grenade-in-luggage-at-new-jersey-airport.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>traveling with a grenade on the way to training in Phoenix.
Fake grenades are equally airlines/the-craziest-things-tsa-seized-in-2018.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>troublesome for security agents as are firearms, concealed knives, medieval weapons and more.