CHICAGO (KNX) — A passenger traveling through O’Hare International Airport on Monday night tried to bring some unusual items through a TSA checkpoint, officials said.
A man had placed his carry-on bag on the security conveyor belt when a TSA officer noticed a knife on the X-ray machine.
"So, they pulled that bag aside, did the bag check, and that's when they discovered several knives and the meat cleaver, which were all taken out of the bag," said Jessica Mayle, spokesperson for the TSA Great Lakes region.
In addition to the meat cleaver, the bag contained commercial-grade knives, screwdrivers, and two circular saw blades.
Authorities gave the passenger some options: He could put the items in his checked luggage; he could return them to his car or give them to a non-traveling friend; or, he could leave the items there.
"The passenger elected to abandon the items at the checkpoint," Mayle said Tuesday.
According to TSA rules, knives must be sheathed or securely wrapped in checked baggage.
Mayle told WBBM Newsradio to remind passengers to double-check their bags before heading to the airport.
"Whatever his career is or whatever he was doing that day, it probably made sense to him to have those items,” she said of the passenger with the questionable contents. “He just didn't stop and think that these would not be safe if they got in the wrong hands in an airplane, and that's why we have these rules."
The TSA Great Lakes region has seen its share of oddities, but Mayle says, "This one stood out to us for sure.”
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