The Chow

If this already posted my apologies.

Can anyone confirm this?

The Associated Press: AP source: 2 held after gun found on Philly plane

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A US Airways employee let a passenger he knew avoid security at the Philadelphia airport Thursday and accepted a bag containing a gun, which was later found on a flight destined for Phoenix, a law enforcement official said.

The employee and passenger were in FBI custody after the plane was called back to the gate at Philadelphia International, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because details hadn't been announced.
The employee was not a member of the flight crew but worked in the airport, the official said.

"This didn't really have anything to do with the plane," the official told The Associated Press. "This was a guy that wanted to get a gun from one place to another ... and had this relationship with someone who worked at the airport."

The detained passenger apparently knew the employee and handed off the bag to him to bypass security, the official said.
Another traveler saw the exchange and contacted authorities, Philadelphia police said. The plane had taxied by the time it was called back to the gate and searched. The unloaded 9 mm handgun was found in an overhead compartment.
There was no evidence the person planned to use the gun on board or harbored any terrorist intentions, the law enforcement official said.
The Transportation Security Administration declined to comment because of the FBI investigation, spokeswoman Ann Davis said.
US Airways Flight 1195 departed Philadelphia several hours later, the airline said. In a statement, the Tempe, Ariz.-based airline said only that additional passenger screening took place "after a concern was raised about a carry-on bag."
"We are cooperating with investigators fully and take security considerations very seriously," said the statement issued by spokesman Morgan Durrant.

cactusmike

Yes, another stellar performance by our highly trained and motivated empoyees in PHL.




lHomepage / Phoenix News


Video: FBI: Man, US Airways Employee Smuggled Gun Onto Plane


2 Charged In Airline Gun Smuggling
Pair Arrested On Charges Of Bringing 9 MM Handgun Onto Flight Bound For Ariz.

POSTED: 8:41 am MST June 4, 2009
UPDATED: 3:49 pm MST June 4, 2009


PHOENIX -- The FBI has charged a US Airways employee and a passenger with getting a concealed semiautomatic handgun onto a plane departing Philadelphia for Arizona early Thursday.

Customer service agent Roshid Milledge switched black carry-on bags with passenger Damien Young at the gate so Young could board the flight to Phoenix with the weapon, the FBI said.

An FBI affidavit said that Young was moving to Phoenix and had earlier asked Milledge about procedures for transporting guns. Authorities say Milledge agreed to carry the bag through an employee entrance.

Another traveler saw the men exchange look-alike bags and alerted officials. Flight 1195 had taxied but was returned to the gate, and Young and the bag were removed.

The two men remain in custody.

rickair7777

Only PHL

The Chow

I guess that million dollar question is why wouldn't this guy just check the weapon at the ticket counter????

Maybe one day we'll find out.

Dashdog

I'm guessing he wasn't licensed to carry it.

It astounds me that we have to go through security, but the rampers (and some other employees too) don't. And yes, this is an attempt on my part to start yet another TSA-bashing thread (my favorite kind).

deltabound

You need a license to carry a 9mm? Concealed carry, maybe. But open carry or in a case is legal pretty much everywhere. (yes, there are exceptions)

One wonders why he didn't just check it. Unless he was afraid of theft . . . always a problem in a place like PHL. Plus, if you're non-reving, the airline typically won't reimburse you should their employee's with sticky fingers "liberate" your checked property.

btwissel

unless his buddy is a convicted felon...

johnso29

Remember the Comair ramper in Miami who brought a duffle bag full of automatic guns to the airport because they were operating a gun smuggling ring? Unreal. And these folks still don't have to go through security, but pilots do. The TSA solution to the whole ordeal, random searches at the gate area.

skidmark

He could have checked it. This is still America, where do you live?

schone

You gotta love those random searches too. They come, create a complete mass with no sterile zone. If anyone managed already to get explosives into that area, that would be the prime opportunity to blow himself up.

These guys should go get a seminar in guerrilla warfare. They might learn something.