Guess Why Southbound Traveler At Newark Airport Said There Was A Gun In His Bag

"I forgot," said the airline customer from Georgia after a TSA agent at one of Newark Airport's checkpoint X-ray machines spotted a .38-caliber handgun in the man's carry-on bag.

It was loaded with six bullets, Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said on Friday, April 28.

Officers alerted Port Authority police, who arrested the Southern man -- and seized the gun, she said.

Farbstein repeated a frequent point made by the TSA about armed travelers.

They not only face fines that can run as high as $15,000, depending on the circumstances, she said. They also bring that entire security checkpoint area to a dead stop until the gun and the carrier are removed.

This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits, Farbstein noted.

SEE: Civil Penalties For Trying To Carry A Gun Aboard A Plane

There's also the question of how responsible a gun owner is when he or she claims not to know they're carrying one.

For the record: Airline passengers in the United States can travel with firearms in checked bags if they are properly packaged and declared at the airline ticket counter.

Guns must be unloaded, placed in a hard-sided locked case and packed separately from ammunition. Then the locked case must be taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared.

SEE: TSA Guidelines For Properly Traveling With A Firearm

Small arms ammunition (up to .75 caliber and shotgun shells of any gauge) must be packaged in a fiber (such as cardboard), wood, plastic, or metal box specifically designed to carry ammunition and declared to your airline.

Ammunition may be transported in the same hard-sided, locked case as a firearm if it has been packed as described above.

Travelers cannot use firearm magazines or clips for packing ammunition unless they completely enclose the ammunition. Travelers should check with their airline for ammo quantity limits.

SEE: 'I Forgot,' 'I Didn't Know': Guns, Excuses Piling Up At Newark Airport Checkpoints

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