Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers thwarted attempts to carry a weapon disguised as a pen during a recent security check at an airport.
Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the TSA, took to social media to share the alarming find, emphasizing the importance of the officer’s vigilance.
“@TSA officers need to stay sharp on the job. Here’s an example where the officer was as sharp as if not sharper than the prohibited item that a traveler had in their carry-on bag. This is a good catch!” said Farbstein in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
She shared a photo of the offending object: a purple Sharpie with a sharp silver spike where the nib should be.
@TSA_Northeast/X
This isn’t the first time the TSA has highlighted a pen being tampered with to conceal a weapon. In 2023, a pen with a sinister secret was confiscated at Huntsville International Airport in Alabama.
Agents stopped over 1,800 firearms at airport checkpoints during the third quarter of 2023. As the confiscated Sharpie shows, firearms are far from the only item prohibited by the TSA when traveling by air.
Recently, the TSA said that more than three million questions were posed to the Transportation Security Administration’s AskTSA team last year and the result was informed passengers having a more pleasant travel experience at the airport.
“While some items would seem to be an obvious not-going-to-travel-in-the-cabin type of prohibited item such as steak knives, switch blades and hatchets, you would be surprised at how often our officers need to intercept them at our checkpoints to assure the safety and security of travelers,” said TSA Spokesperson Sari Koshetz.
“A quick question to ask yourself before packing an item is whether you would want the passenger sitting next to you to have it. If your answer is no, then leave it home.”
While some items not allowed in hand luggage are allowed in checked bags, there are many items that cannot travel on airplanes at all.
“Certain items require thinking about their chemical components before bringing them to the airport,” Koshetz said. “If an item is flammable, corrosive or explosive in nature, it cannot go in your carry-on nor in your checked bag.”
Passengers can contact TSA on social media by sending a message to @AskTSA on X or Facebook Messenger or can send a text directly to 275-872, where TSA agents will answer questions about what can and cannot be taken on an aircraft.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.