A Dunbar woman on Sunday became the fourth person this year - and the third person within a week - to be found carrying a loaded handgun in carry-on baggage while attempting to pass through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Charleston's Yeager Airport. Last year, a total of two people were found to have weapons in their possession as they attempted to pass through Yeager's security gate.
TSA officers detected a .38-caliber handgun loaded with five bullets during routine screening in Sunday's incident. Yeager Airport police said Nichole Holbert was charged with a state misdemeanor charge of bringing a firearm onto Yeager Airport property, and could face possible TSA fines.
On April 15, Sierra Stratton of Jumping Branch, Summers County, was cited during a similar incident at the Charleston airport, according to Yeager Airport police. On April 13, TSA officers found a .38-caliber handgun loaded with four rounds in a carry-on bag belonging to Vernon Wysong, 77, of Hurricane. On Jan. 3, TSA officers detected a loaded .38-caliber handgun in a carry-on bag belonging to a Chapmanville man whom they did not identify.
Yeager Airport Police Chief Joe Crawford said the four passengers cited so far this year on airport firearms charges told officers they forgot that the weapons were in their bags. All were cited under state misdemeanor charges dealing with bringing firearms onto airport property and face possible fines from the TSA. The passengers were allowed to proceed onto their flights after their weapons were confiscated, pending hearings, and checks were made to see that no charges were pending against them.
Firearms, firearm parts and ammunition are not permitted in carry-on bags, but can be transported in checked bags if they are unloaded, properly packed in hard-sided cases, and declared to the airline, according to the TSA.
Details on how to legally travel with firearms can be found on the TSA's website, http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/firearms-and-ammunition.