Human Legs Found in Carry on, and Other TSA Stories at Cherry Capital Airport
TRAVERSE CITY — Two human legs. Those were the strangest things Transportation Security Administration officer, Richard Sparks, 48, has seen in his five years on the job as a screener at the Cherry Capital Airport.
He remembers the date — July 1, 2018 —because the sight was so unusual.
“When it hit my X-ray machine I will say I wasn’t expecting that.”
The legs were legal biological research material, headed from Grayling to Northern Michigan University’s Forensic Research Outdoor Station in Marquette.
They were, however, packaged improperly, mislabeled and should have flown cargo, Sparks said, but ended up in passenger screening, which temporarily slowed things down.
While holiday air travelers aren’t likely to experience long security lines caused by anything as unexpected as human body parts, TSA Assistant Federal Security Director for the Northern Spoke, Craig A. LaFoille said agents screening passengers and their luggage at Cherry Capital find about 50 pounds of material a month that isn’t allowed on airplanes.
These include bottles of wine, jars of salsa, large canisters of hairspray, hammers, wrenches, Swiss Army knives, full water bottles, sling shots, loose ammunition, brass knuckles, continuous torch lighters and even a cake knife with a crystal handle engraved with the date — Dec. 28, 2018 — of an out-of-town couple’s destination wedding.
“Don’t bring a crystal vase,” said Airport Director Kevin Klein, at a gathering Thursday arranged by TSA and airport administration to offer travel tips. “There’s lead in the glass and they set off every metal detector we have.”
“Or snow globes,” added LaFoille, as anything round, heavy and larger than a tennis ball could be used as a weapon.
“Just to myth-bust, we never confiscate and we never use the items ourselves,” said Mark Howell, TSA’s regional spokesperson. “We always give someone the option to surrender the items unless it’s something we have to refer to local law enforcement.”
By “something” Howell means firearms which are allowed in checked baggage as long as they are unloaded and packed in a hard-sided container, but are never allowed in carry-ons.
Of the 4,200 firearms U.S. passengers either forgot were in their carry-on bags, didn’t realize were not allowed, or were actually trying to get on an airplane, a small number — between two and four — were found by Cherry Capital TSA officers.
“And 80 to 90 percent of the time, they’re loaded,” said TSA officer Ryan Laughery, 36. He explained that TSA protocol is to leave the firearm in the screener, call police and stop the security lane until local officers arrive.
There are two security screening lanes at Cherry Capital, one standard, the other for pre-checked passengers, and on busy travel days, shutting one lane down can dramatically increase how long it takes passengers to get to their gates.
“That trickle turns into a tidal wave real fast,” Laughery said.
With the legalization of recreational marijuana, officers said they don’t actively look for the drug, but if it is found during a search of something else — say a make-up bag, a container of homemade food or a purse — they call local law enforcement.
“We fall under federal law and at that level, it’s illegal,” said Howell.
According to AAA, 201,773 Michiganders are expected to travel by plane during the end-of-year holidays, which TSA defines as between Dec. 20 and Jan. 5. Between 800 and 1,000 of those will come through Cherry Capital, LaFoille estimated.
Following the holidays, the next travel issue passengers need to prepare for is REAL ID. Beginning Oct. 1, 2020, passengers will need an enhanced driver’s license, an enhanced state ID card, a valid U.S. passport or other REAL-ID compliant document to board all domestic flights.
“We’re 10 months away from the deadline and as of right now, there’s no plan to make any exceptions,” said Howell. “After Oct. 1, if you don’t have a REAL ID, you don’t fly.”
More holiday travel tips and information on prohibited items is available at TSA.gov or via the free MyTSA app.
More information on REAL ID is available at Michigan.gov/REALID.
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