Photo Courtesy of TSA
This folding knife was recently found by TSA officers concealed inside the seat cushion of a traveler’s wheelchair at LaGuardia Airport.
By Forum Staff
A Transportation Security Administration officer recently detected a knife stowed deep inside the cushion of a Connecticut man’s wheelchair as he was screening the passenger at one of LaGuardia Airport’s checkpoints, according to the TSA.
Travelers and their wheelchairs, the agency explained, are required to undergo security screening at U.S. airports. As the officer was physically scanning the wheelchair last Wednesday, he noticed something that seemed to be hidden inside its seat cushion. A portion of the chair was removed to access the item, which turned out to be a sharp 8-inch folding knife.
The New Haven resident claimed that he was a fisherman and that he had misplaced his fishing knife, “which somehow had found its way into the cushion of the wheelchair in such a way that it was only accessible after a portion of the chair was disassembled,” TSA officials noted.
Police cited the man on a state weapons charge. After another round of thorough screening the man was permitted to catch his flight to Atlanta.
According to the Administration, travelers who bring weapons to checkpoints are subject to possible criminal charges from law enforcement, and civil penalties of up to $12,000.
