Loaded gun found as Kittanning man goes through Arnold Palmer Regional Airport checkpoint

A Kittanning man will be fined after attempting to take a loaded handgun through security at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity Wednesday, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

The .380 caliber handgun with six bullets appeared on the security checkpoint’s X-ray machine, where it was spotted by a TSA officer. TSA contacted Westmoreland County Park Police, who detained the man for questioning.

The man was allowed to catch his flight, but will be fined, according to the TSA.

The typical fine for a first offender bringing a loaded gun to a TSA checkpoint is $4,100. Fines can be higher than $13,000 depending on the circumstances. Details about this specific fine have not been disclosed.

It was the first gun at a Palmer checkpoint this year. TSA officers found one gun at the airport’s checkpoint in 2020, and four in 2019.

Local TSA officers have been busy this year, especially at the Pittsburgh International Airport, where they’ve caught five people with guns since Jan. 1. Four of those were found in a 12-day span from Feb. 4-16.

“That’s no secret. It’s common sense,” Karen Keys-Turner, TSA’s federal security director for Pittsburgh International Airport, said Tuesday. “No guns on planes has been a policy since long before TSA was established 19 years ago, so it’s nothing new.”

The number of guns found at both Pittsburgh International Airport and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport dropped in 2020 due to reduced travel during the coronavirus pandemic. However, this drop was not commensurate with the decline in travelers, according to Lisa Farbstein, TSA spokesperson. Twice as many firearms per 1 million travelers were stopped at Pittsburgh International Airport last year compared to 2019, she said.