A ‘souvenir’ missile launcher? Texas man tries to bring one on airplane, TSA says

Apparently, missile launchers are among the items you can’t take onto an airplane.

A Texas man found that out Monday morning when Transportation Security Administration officers found one in his checked luggage at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, according to a TSA news release. A picture shows two gray tubular pieces of military hardware packed among clothing and other belongings.

TSA officers immediately informed airport police of the missile launcher, and they helped find the traveler to detain him for questioning, officials said.

The man said he was an active military member traveling from Kuwait back home to Jacksonville, Texas, located two hours southeast of the Dallas-Forth Worth area, according to the release.

He told TSA officers that he wanted to keep the missile launcher as a souvenir, officials said.

The missile launcher was not a “live device,” but it was still confiscated by the state fire marshal for disposal because military weapons aren’t allowed in luggage, the TSA said.

On Twitter, a TSA spokeswoman suggested the man should have chosen a different souvenir.

Despite the stop for questioning and losing his missile launcher, the man was still able to catch his flight home, the TSA said.

This story was originally published July 29, 2019 at 11:05 AM with the headline "A ‘souvenir’ missile launcher? Texas man tries to bring one on airplane, TSA says."