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The Peekskill resident was stopped in White Plains at the Westchester County Airport by Transportation Security Administration officers.
According to the TSA, the man was carrying a .38 caliber revolver loaded with five bullets.
A TSA officer spotted the handgun on the checkpoint X-ray machine’s monitor as the man’s belongings entered the X-ray unit, said the TSA.
TSA immediately alerted the Westchester County Police, which responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the gun, and detained the man for questioning before allowing him to depart the airport, they added.
The man, who has not been named, now faces a federal financial civil penalty for bringing a gun to an airport security checkpoint, TSA said.
It was the second handgun that TSA officers have stopped at the airport checkpoint so far this year.
“Bringing a loaded handgun to a TSA security checkpoint is a serious matter. Our officers are good at preventing prohibited items and deadly weapons from getting past the checkpoints and people who try to bring a gun onto a flight will face a civil penalty,” said Robert Duffy, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport.
Guns can be transported on a flight if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case, and declared to the airline, TSA officials said.
The airline will be sure that the gun travels with checked baggage in the belly of the plane, never in the cabin of the plane. Additionally, replica firearms also are prohibited in carry-on baggage and also must be transported in checked luggage, they added.
To prevent any problems, once at the airport during the check-in process, a passenger needs to go to the airline ticket counter to declare the firearm, ammunition, and any firearm parts, TSA said.
Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating circumstances.
Individuals who violate rules regarding traveling with guns will have Trusted Traveler status and TSA PreCheck expedited screening benefits revoked.
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