October 8, 2009
U.S. man carrying loaded gun arrested at Narita airport

NARITA, Chiba Pref. (Kyodo) An American man has been arrested at Narita International Airport for carrying a loaded handgun after security staff at a U.S. airport failed to detect it, Narita airport authorities said Wednesday.

The 51-year-old man was arrested by Chiba police at Narita on Sept. 30 after airport officials found the semiautomatic in his carry-on bag while he was transferring to a flight for Bangkok, they said.

He arrived on an American Airlines flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. Narita airport officials said he is a photographer but his name has been withheld.

The Narita airport authorities quoted him as saying that he placed the gun, used for competition, in the bag several years ago and mistakenly brought it with him on his travels to Asia with his family and an acquaintance.

The incident raises questions about the thoroughness of U.S. airport security, which has improved significantly since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States. It is now rare to hear of a handgun being smuggled onto a plane leaving the U.S.

In the 9/11 attacks, two of the four jets hijacked were American Airlines planes.

In June, a passenger and an airline official managed to sneak a gun onto a plane at Philadelphia International Airport, according to U.S. media reports.

The gun was discovered by Transport Security Administration staff before the plane departed.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-...008a5.html

American Man Carrying Loaded Gun Arrested At Narita Airport In Japan

I still just am shocked thinking about this news article.
The FAA must put a stop to this type of problem. They need to do more unreported simulation tests. I know they do tests, and to see if their security teams are really catching little things, but they need to do this more often.

What is it going to take before they get computerized equipment, scanning equipment, and additional personnel to inspect every single bag?

Nothing, I mean nothing should be going onboard an airline if it has not been fully inspected.

I am worried about Food Carts, Duty Free products etc...

Anything and everything should be getting inspected.

Living in Japan, I see the level of interest and care factor in Japanese airports. On a daily basis, you have inspectors walking around, dogs sniffing packages, and custom inspectors checking luggage. The last time I came through Narita, they actually had me open 2 of the 3 bags I had. I was more than happy to do it, because I felt they were doing a good job, because they should be checking.

I really hope people can get this under control, and get every airport secure. 1 time is unacceptable. I understand mistakes happen, but this is exactly what people are looking for.

this is amazing that this guy got through customs. How does the US allow something to pass through customs?

I really hope someone got fired for this incident.

The Dallas airport will probably use the excuse, its a random check through the baggage, and its impossible to check every bag.

I just have 1 thing to say towards an excuse like that:

- It only takes 1 bomb to slip through customs. That gun could of easily been anything.. If that got through, what do you think someone with bad intentions could do?

People need to wake up and realize that no matter where you are in the world, there are people that have hate.