Congratulations Transportation Security Administration (TSA), your goal of ensuring no firearms make it onto the plane has failed spectacularly:
Airport security officials at Los Angeles International Airport failed to detect a loaded handgun that was contained in a traveler’s checked bag Sunday, according to several law enforcement sources.
An airport ramp crew discovered the loaded .38-caliber handgun Sunday after it tumbled from an unzipped compartment in a duffel bag they were loading onto Alaska Airlines Flight 563, according to the sources. The aircraft was leaving the terminal at LAX at 8:15 a.m. Sunday, bound for Portland, Ore.
Workers called Los Angeles Airport Police to report the discovery. The owner of the gun was questioned at the LAPD’s Pacific station and released and allowed to board a later flight to Portland. The gun was turned over to Los Angeles police, the source said.
Bang up job boys. Even with your metal detectors, luggage scanners, pat downs, naked body scanners, water bottle confiscators, and other pointless security theater you missed a loaded firearm that would set off any cheap metal detector. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with firearms being in airplanes and in fact I advocate pilots, at the bear minimum, be armed. But when your mandate is to prevent weapons from getting onto planes and you’re trying to further crawl up our asses by establishing checkpoints on highways I’m going to call you on being complete fuck ups.
By the way a tip of the old hat goes to Victoria for sending me this story.