The 5 Craziest Things Passengers Tried to Sneak by the TSA in February

Feb. 28, 2017

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7 min read

The 5 Craziest Things Passengers Tried to Sneak by the TSA in February

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Every week, the TSA blogs about items (mostly weapons) that agents have confiscated at airports around the country, and the agency posts some of the crazier ones on its Instagram page. Below are the five most ridiculous items that were confiscated this month — at least according to us at Team TPG. As always, we're grateful that the TSA remains diligent in preventing passengers from boarding aircraft with such dangerous weapons.

1. Bone Knife

This macabre carved-bone blade was confiscated at Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI). As always, no matter how ornate and special a knife may be, they must all be packed in checked baggage or sent to your destination via mail.

Make no bones about it, no knives are allowed to be packed in carry-on bags. I’d make a joke about it, but there’s nothing “humerus” about trying to take prohibited items on the plane. They must all be packed in checked bags. This knife was found in a carry-on bag at Baltimore (BWI).

A post shared by TSA (@tsa) on Jan 26, 2017 at 12:42pm PST

2. 'Explosive' Salt & Pepper Shakers

This set of salt & pepper shakers resembling grenade launcher-caliber ammunition may have enough firepower to ignite your flavorless onboard meal, but they're strictly prohibited from flying. We've seen plenty of inert grenades confiscated at airports around the country, these spice-holding grenades confiscated at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) are certainly a unique take on a familiar sight.

If your food is a bit bland, you could add some flavor with these stylish salt & pepper shakers fashioned after the M-118 grenade. Just don’t bring them on the plane…these were discovered in a Detroit (DTW) carry-on bag.

A post shared by TSA (@tsa) on Feb 27, 2017 at 6:48pm PST

3. 'Satan's Pizza Cutter'

This flashy — and disturbing — satanic 'pizza cutter' (as coined by the TSA) is sure to get you some attention in the airport, but be sure to do your very best to wait until you arrive at your destination before using it. This intimidating piece of hardware was discovered by TSA agents at Honolulu International Airport (HNL) in a passenger's carry-on luggage.

Satan’s pizza cutter was discovered in a carry-on bag at Honolulu (HNL). Normal pizza cutters are ok... All bladed items must be packed in checked bags.

A post shared by TSA (@tsa) on Feb 16, 2017 at 4:32pm PST

4. Firearms Concealed in Bicycle Tires

Bikes can fly, but not when they're vehicles for attempted smuggling. A passenger at San Juan (SJU) thought they'd outsmart the TSA by disassembling a handgun and putting the pieces inside the tires. But, the TSA had no trouble finding the hidden weapon and both items were swiftly confiscated. You can travel with firearms, as long as they're securely packed in checked luggage.

There are proper ways do declare firearms and ammunition, and then there’s stuffing everything in bicycle tires. If you’d like to travel with your firearm in checked bags and not get arrested, we strongly advise not stuffing the disassembled parts and ammo in bicycle tires. You can pack firearms and ammo in your checked baggage as long as you meet the packing guidelines: bit.ly/travelingwithfirearms. This incident occurred at San Juan (SJU).

A post shared by TSA (@tsa) on Feb 23, 2017 at 2:57pm PST

5. Fireworks

Someone in Las Vegas must have had a great weekend and wanted to leave Sin City with a bang, but flying with firecrackers is probably one of the least-smart decisions you could make. Remember that all forms of explosives are strictly prohibited on aircraft — but if you need a refresher on what you can and can't bring on board an aircraft, you can check out the TSA's site for more information.

Let’s see, we’ve got crackers and knives, but where’s the cheese? On a serious note, all firecrackers and fireworks are prohibited from carry-on and checked bags for obvious reasons. These were discovered in a carry-on bag at Las Vegas (LAS). Oh yeah... knives are prohibited in carry on bags, but they may be packed in checked luggage.

A post shared by TSA (@tsa) on Jan 31, 2017 at 1:06pm PST

What's the strangest item you've seen at a TSA checkpoint?