What, was a snow globe not good enough?
Transportation Security Administration officers at Baltimore Washington International Airport confiscated a missile launcher from an Air Force member’s checked luggage early Monday morning.
The man, an active-duty service member from Jacksonville, Texas, told authorities he was traveling home from Kuwait and wanted to keep the spent missile launcher as a souvenir.
“A missile launcher is not something you want to bring on a plane,” TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told WTOP’s Kristi King. “Our advice would be: Maybe a key chain next time?”
In what seems like a real “No duh” statement: Military weapons are not allowed in checked or carry-on bags.
“If people do want to bring home souvenirs that are, say, inert grenades — we do see a lot of inert grenades people bring back from their service time overseas — the best thing to do is to ship it,” Farbstein said.
The missile launcher, which was not a live device, was handed over to the state fire marshal for disposal.
For his part, the man was allowed to catch his flight home.
The TSA has not yet determined if it will file a civil citation against the man.
There was a similar incident in March at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania when a man from Florida tried to bring a replica RPG launcher through security.
WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report.
