Secpro
06-05-2009, 07:29 AM
UPDATE: The FBI charged a US Airways employee with helping his roommate get a concealed, semiautomatic handgun onto a plane departing Philadelphia early Thursday.
Customer service agent Roshid Milledge switched black carry-on bags with passenger Damien Young at the gate so Young could board the 7 am flight to Phoenix with the unloaded 9 mm weapon, the FBI said in an affidavit.
Young, 29, was moving to Phoenix and had asked Milledge about the procedures for transporting guns. Milledge, 38, instead agreed to carry the bag through an employee entrance so it would not be screened by security.
An alert fellow passenger saw the switch and, sensing that Milledge seemed “fidgety,” raised concerns. Young, already on the plane, allegedly denied to a US Airways manager that he had switched bags with anyone. The plane then started to taxi, but was soon called back to the gate so Young could be removed.
He then admitted the bag was his and both men gave statements, the FBI said. Milledge told agents he had grabbed the wrong laptop bag from their Philadelphia home that morning and was switching it back.
The gun is registered to Young, and he had a valid permit to carry it, authorities said.
Original Story ——–
Two people, including a US Airways employee, were being questioned on Thursday morning after authorities at Philadelphia International Airport found a handgun on a flight bound for Arizona.
According to preliminary information from investigators, someone waiting for a flight saw a passenger hand a bag to a US Airways employee to may have been authorized to bypass the security screening line. The witness reported the incident to the TSA.
The bag was located on the plane and found to contain an unloaded 9mm handgun. The gun and the bag were confiscated, and the passenger and the US Airways employee were taken into custody for questioning.
The rest of the plane was searched as a precaution.
The FBI, Philadelphia police, and the TSA were continuing to investigate.
The 7:10am US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Phoenix was canceled, and the 10:15am flight eventually took off about 11am.
Customer service agent Roshid Milledge switched black carry-on bags with passenger Damien Young at the gate so Young could board the 7 am flight to Phoenix with the unloaded 9 mm weapon, the FBI said in an affidavit.
Young, 29, was moving to Phoenix and had asked Milledge about the procedures for transporting guns. Milledge, 38, instead agreed to carry the bag through an employee entrance so it would not be screened by security.
An alert fellow passenger saw the switch and, sensing that Milledge seemed “fidgety,” raised concerns. Young, already on the plane, allegedly denied to a US Airways manager that he had switched bags with anyone. The plane then started to taxi, but was soon called back to the gate so Young could be removed.
He then admitted the bag was his and both men gave statements, the FBI said. Milledge told agents he had grabbed the wrong laptop bag from their Philadelphia home that morning and was switching it back.
The gun is registered to Young, and he had a valid permit to carry it, authorities said.
Original Story ——–
Two people, including a US Airways employee, were being questioned on Thursday morning after authorities at Philadelphia International Airport found a handgun on a flight bound for Arizona.
According to preliminary information from investigators, someone waiting for a flight saw a passenger hand a bag to a US Airways employee to may have been authorized to bypass the security screening line. The witness reported the incident to the TSA.
The bag was located on the plane and found to contain an unloaded 9mm handgun. The gun and the bag were confiscated, and the passenger and the US Airways employee were taken into custody for questioning.
The rest of the plane was searched as a precaution.
The FBI, Philadelphia police, and the TSA were continuing to investigate.
The 7:10am US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Phoenix was canceled, and the 10:15am flight eventually took off about 11am.