Transportation Security Administration officers have had a busy year stopping passengers from carrying guns on planes in Florida.
Across the state, they’ve found 479 this year, compared 411 last year. At Palm Beach International Airport, they’ve doubled the amount from last year, totaling 28.
But that’s not all.
They’ve found all sorts of threatening, prohibited items going through security and TSA gave us a rare, exclusive look at some of the items abandoned at PBIA this year.
They set up a table with many of those items in front of checkpoint C at PBIA Wednesday afternoon for us to see.
“Brass knuckles, that (mace) gun, and that hatchet. They’re carrying that and those shoes. I’d say that’s a red flag,” Paul Cannavle, who lives part time in Delray Beach, said. Those shoes were zebra colored heels with a fish habitat inside.
“This is all the stuff you’re not supposed to bring on a plane,” Ari Malul said, talking to his 2.5 year old son Adam. They’re in town visiting Ari’s father.
The table drew a crowd.
“That’s incredible. I would never think of most of this stuff,” said Paul Croatti, who’s visiting from Maine.
A TSA spokesperson said the most common excuse for these items is people just simply didn’t know.
“The education part is what’s really sticking out here, everybody coming by here seeing this stuff,” Croatti said.
“The railroad spike, that I wouldn’t have known. That’s good education for me,” Malul said.
And then there’s just the plain obvious.
“I can’t believe somebody is trying to come in with a hatchet, a row of bullets,” Cannavale said.
“Even fake grenades,” Malul said.
They’ve also found weapons hidden inside an everyday item. Like a key with a blade.
“Somebody could do some harm with something like that, that nobody would think of using,” Croatti said.
As for the shoes, they had too much liquid inside.
“This airport thing that we do that we take for granted can easily be exploited,” Malul said. “(TSA does) a very important job.”
TSA says all those sharp items are given to a contracted, out of state company who then are free to do what they please with them, like sell them.
TSA asks that you first check or mail the prohibited item. Last resort is abandoning it at the security checkpoint.
To find out what items are allowed, visit TSA.gov.