Wednesday, November 24, 2004


Weapons on plane shock
AIR passengers are still trying to carry potentially deadly items on to planes - including chainsaws and landmines.
The US Transportation Security Administration said it had confiscated 15.6 million banned items, including guns and knives by the end of October.
Yesterday a 79-year-old woman was arrested at a Florida airport for carrying a pistol and seven bullets in her bag.
She claimed she had forgotten they were there.
Billie Vincent, former security chief for the Federal Aviation Administration, blames stupidity and forgetfulness in most cases.
He said: "How do you deal with people who have to know about 9/11 and, even inadvertently, are still trying to get knives on to planes?"
The TSA has seized knives disguised as lipstick, a handgun hidden inside a radio and a loaded gun stuffed into a teddy bear.
Some passengers have even tried to smuggle chainsaws on to planes and one soldier was kicked off a flight after a landmine was found in his luggage.
Another man had packed gunpowder and a fuse for his bizarre hobby of shooting golf balls out of cannons.