A flight attendant was carrying an item in her bag that caused quite the scene at Philadelphia International Airport. She was carrying a loaded handgun which a Philadelphia police officer then accidentally fired.
A US Airway Express affiliate flight attendant was going through airport security on Sunday when the Transportation Security Admission found a loaded .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver in her bag during a screening. The 26-year-old woman was stopped at the checkpoint in Terminal C.
The Republic Airlines flight attendant, who has worked for the airline for over five year, is licensed to carry a firearm, but she claims that she didn't mean to bring it to work. She forgot it was in her bag.
"You would expect she would be more vigilant about the fact she travels so much that it should be second nature to her to basically check it out and check her bags out before coming to the airport," traveler Brian Saldanha told ABC News.
Police were called and as an officer tried to remove the gun's ammunition, she accidentally fired off the gun. Luckily the bullet hit the ground and no one was hurt.
The flight attendant was taken into custody and released with a summary citation for taking the gun to an airport security checkpoint.
"We are human and everybody does make mistakes and I understand that even though she's a seasoned veteran she needs to be careful and I'm sure it will be a great learning opportunity for her," US Airways passenger Andrea Burger said.
As for the police officer who accidentally shot the gun, she may be in need of some more training. A police spokesman tells the Inquirer: "She will go back to training for handling weapons. She will be off the streets for a period of time."
No flights were delayed in the incident. Another flight attendant replaced the flight attendant with the gun on the Dallas-bound flight that she was supposed to work on.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
