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On Friday, Oct. 28, a Transportation Security Administration officer at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains was checking an Orange County man's belongings on the checkpoint X-ray machine’s monitor when they spotted the handgun, which was loaded with seven bullets, according to TSA officials.
Soon after this, Westchester County Police responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the gun, and detained the man for questioning, TSA officials said.
The man, a resident of Newburgh whose name was not released, is now facing a financial civil penalty for bringing the gun to the security checkpoint, according to the TSA.
TSA officials said that it was the fourth gun stopped at the checkpoint 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 federal civil penalty," said the airport's Federal Security Director Robert Duffy.
Federal civil penalties for bringing guns into checkpoints can potentially cost up to thousands of dollars depending on circumstances, officials said.
Guns can only be transported on flights if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case, and declared to the airline, according to the TSA.
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