Guns Go Missing From Tampa Intl. Airport Luggage

[Secpro]

TAMPA - Eric Rowe runs a personal security service. He protects famous athletes and rap stars. That's why he took his 9mm Desert Eagle with him when he caught a flight from Tampa to Fort Lauderdale. He's done this many times and knows the rules.

“We go through a little ritual where you declare your firearms,” said Rowe. “You show them that the weapon is unloaded, securely encased. “

Guns are checked every day and loaded into the belly of planes in bags with special locks approved by the Transportation Security Administration, but when Rowe landed and went to baggage claim, he immediately saw a problem.

“My bags had been tampered with,” recalled Rowe. “My bags were opened, the TSA lock was off. My weapon was missing.”

Rowe notified airport police, TSA and federal air marshals, but no one could explain what happened. His gun simply disappeared.

We learned what happened to Eric Rowe while digging through police reports at Tampa International Airport, all of them filed by passengers who say their bags were broken into or stolen. Most of these passengers lost money, jewelry or electronics -- not a gun.

A spokesperson for TSA told us the agency doesn't keep a database that tracks the total number of guns which disappear from airports. Tampa Airport Police Chief Paul Sireci was the only law enforcement official willing to sit down and talk with us about guns that go missing.

“We have a recent case where someone stole a gun out of a bag in the belly of the plane,” said Chief Sireci. “The other employees saw it and so they reported it to us. “

Tampa Airport Police solved that one, but Eric Rowe's pistol is still missing.

“I'm concerned for him,” said Chief Sireci. “I'm concerned that there's a gun out there that more than likely was sold to a person who under normal circumstances couldn't buy a gun. That's my concern.”

There's only so much airport police can do to prevent these thefts. Only the airline and TSA know when a gun is in a bag that's checked on plane. Airport police only find out after it’s reported missing.

“The dollar amount, I'm not so concerned about,” said Rowe. “But I'm concerned there's a weapon with ammunition in a secure area of the airport.”

Could a missing gun really wind up in the passenger compartment of a plane? A spokesperson for TSA said the agency is concerned about this scenario, but was quick to point out that there are many layers of security to protect passengers.

[JaxChris]

Well gee, maybe if they didn't hire any Joe Schmoe off the street at 10$/hr to do these jobs maybe TSA wouldn't be such a joke.

[Cris]

Not a very secure airline to fly with as you can see. They go through all the process of hiring people to do this job and as Jax stated I am sure the pay sucks, so it leads to staff pulling of heists like this everyday.

[Dan]

Well gee, maybe if they didn't hire any Joe Schmoe off the street at 10$/hr to do these jobs maybe TSA wouldn't be such a joke.

:+1: Thats why I HATE flying. Too many idiots running things.

[Secpro]

Not a very secure airline to fly with as you can see. They go through all the process of hiring people to do this job and as Jax stated I am sure the pay sucks, so it leads to staff pulling of heists like this everyday.

The pay isn't all that bad at $13.50 to start plus when you look at thr Federal benefits it looks pretty good. There hiring process is just a joke to say the least.
Someone stated stated something about the airline being bad. It has actually nothing to do with the airline. Regardless of which flight you take you still go through all of the same TSA checks with there personnel. Now if something happend after the check then that would be the baggage carriers and they're all hired by the airport not necessarily the airlines.
Until TSA steps up to the plate and implement some harsher policies and hiring compatent individuals theres nothing that can be done.
Then again there arent many people lining up for 12-16hr shifts on your feet for about 12 or more hrs a day either.

[JaxChris]

Those jobs are just another way to get everyone either working for or sucking off of the Fed's tit. That's called Communism, it's bad and has been proven not to work.

As for why TSA jobs are a joke, let's do some math. First, they're at airports. Where are airports? Correct, airports are in urban areas. What neighborhoods are closest with available workers? That's right, ghetto's! And who lives in ghetto's? Yep, lazy fuckers that would rather be shady than make an effort to import their lives and moved to a better area. So.... if you give unrestricted blind access to some lazy prick low life's with magic keys that make your locks fall off, what do you think is going to happen to your shit? Uh huh, your shit runs a risk of going missing.

Isn't math fun?

[anthony20031]

I was told not to use a lock that the TSA can open. I was under the impression yes there are boxes that use a TSA lock that enables them to use a specific key to unlock it to check it...I was also told that it was a bad idea to get one of those.

Am I off base or is that correct? I may fly to Vermont in the near future and want to clear that up

[JaxChris]

I don't think you're allowed to check baggage without them anymore unless you want the lock cut off and no lock on there at all when the baggage loaders are playing around under the plane.

[anthony20031]

I don't think you're allowed to check baggage without them anymore unless you want the lock cut off and no lock on there at all when the baggage loaders are playing around under the plane.

I was under the impression that when you check it they have already inspected it and there should be no need to open it again. If they do need to open it they will call you. If you don't show they just won't send the package on the plane or something

[Secpro]

I was told not to use a lock that the TSA can open. I was under the impression yes there are boxes that use a TSA lock that enables them to use a specific key to unlock it to check it...I was also told that it was a bad idea to get one of those.

Am I off base or is that correct? I may fly to Vermont in the near future and want to clear that up

I think you're correct sir! You are supposed to check it at the counter before you depart and again when you arrive. I do not remember exactlly where to find that info again though.
Alot of folks use comsafes when they travel with there own locks without a SNAFU

[Cris]

Yes as the article stated it must be declared.