Security screeners with the Transportation Security Administration at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport stumbled across a missile launcher in a man's luggage during a routine security screening at the airport.
According to a statement from the TSA, the military grade weapon was discovered inside the man's checked luggage.
"Fortunately the item was not a live device," the TSA said in a statement.
Officials with the TSA contacted airport police who found the man and detained him for questioning. According to the statement from the agency, the unidentified man from Jacksonville, Texas, told police that he was traveling home after being on duty for the U.S. military in Kuwait, where he picked up the missile launcher as a souvenir of his time.
The item was reportedly confiscated and turned over to the Maryland fire marshal for disposal. The man was released and allowed to resume his journey home.
Military grade weapons are prohibited aboard domestic flights in either checked or carry-on luggage. Civilian firearms must be placed unloaded in checked backs and locked in a hard-sided container if passengers wish to fly with their weapons.
Photo: Transportation Security Administration