Loaded firearm found during security screening at Yeager Airport

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - A Mingo county man is facing charges after TSA officers say they found a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag at West Virginia International Yeager Airport on Monday.

Officers say they spotted the gun in the airport’s X-ray machine. They then alerted local authorities, who confiscated the firearm and cited the man on a weapons charge.

Officers say the firearm was a .380 caliber handgun, loaded with five bullets. The carry-on bag also contained an additional gun magazine with five more bullets.

“We get that there are plenty of rules related to TSA security screening and that they are not always easy to remember,” said Simone Beyer, TSA’s Acting Federal Security Director for West Virginia. “But travelers must remember not to bring their firearms and ammunition to our security checkpoints.”

TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint, with fines stretching up to thousands of dollars. They say this applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits

TSA officers say they have located two firearms at West Virginia International Yeager Airport so far in 2022.

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