Hollidaysburg man found with loaded handgun at Arnold Palmer Airport checkpoint

Authorities caught a man trying to board a flight with a loaded gun Thursday morning at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport.

It was the first gun found this year at the security checkpoint of the airport in Unity.

Transportation Security Administration officers stopped a man from Hollidaysburg, Blair County, who had a loaded handgun in a carry-on bag. The 9mm gun loaded with six bullets was detected in an X-ray scan.

The man said the gun belonged to his wife, who was traveling with him, according to the TSA.

Police were alerted and prevented the couple from boarding with the gun.

“Part of being a responsible gun owner is knowing where your firearm is at all times,” said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s federal security director for the airport. “Not knowing that you’re carrying a deadly weapon is inexcusable.”

TSA officers found six guns at the Palmer airport checkpoint last year — double the number discovered in 2019, before the pandemic slashed the number of passengers there and nationwide.

There were 5,972 firearms detected at U.S. airport checkpoints last year, up from 4,432 in 2019. That included a record 89 at Pennsylvania airports, up from 71 in 2019.

Pittsburgh International Airport accounted for 32 of the guns detected last year at Pennsylvania air terminals — up from 21, in 2020, but down from 35, in 2019, and 34, in 2018.

There were 39 guns found last year at Philadelphia International Airport — up from a recent low of 20, in 2019, and a previous recent high of 35, in 2017.

TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty of up to $13,900 to someone who brings a weapon to an airport checkpoint.

Firearms may be transported as checked baggage if they are unloaded, properly packed and declared at the airline ticket counter. TSA guidelines for traveling with a firearm can be found by visiting tsa.gov and searching for “Transporting Firearms and Ammunition.”