Stowaway in checked luggage triggers TSA alarm — and then it hopped out, photo shows

A little stowaway hidden inside a piece of checked luggage recently triggered an alarm during the screening process at a Pennsylvania airport, according to federal authorities.

When officers with the Transportation Security Administration checked the bag, the critter hopped out, as seen in a photo shared online by TSA Northeast Spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.

She said the amphibian was spotted at Harrisburg International Airport Middletown, about 100 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

“This little creature was toad-aly surprised when he was spotted and he asked for frog-iveness,” she said in the pun-filled tweet. “This find by TSA officers won’t be easily frog-gotten.”

“The trend of animals found during security screening by @TSA officers continues,” TSA New England Spokesperson Dan Velez tweeted.

“For those keeping track, that’s now a frog, a snake, a dog and a cat detected in a bag by @TSA nationwide in the last year,” TSA Southeast Spokesperson Mark Howell said. “My ‘Animals in Bags’ bingo card is almost full!”

Live animals should never be put in checked luggage, officials said.

This story was originally published February 6, 2023 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Stowaway in checked luggage triggers TSA alarm — and then it hopped out, photo shows."