Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers detected a loaded handgun in a traveler's carry-on luggage at the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA) Tuesday morning.
This is the first firearm discovered at SBA this year, according to TSA.
A TSA officer saw the gun on the X-ray screen during routine screening. The firearm was inside the carry-on luggage of a man ticketed for travel to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, authorities said.
TSA notified Santa Barbara Airport Patrol officers, who interviewed the man and confiscated the handgun. The man was allowed to continue to his flight, according to TSA.
Authorities say the firearm, a .380 caliber Beretta Pico, was loaded with six rounds of ammunition.
TSA will impose a fine against the passenger after an investigation, according to the administration.
The recommended civil penalty for a firearm starts at $2,050, but it can go up to the statutory maximum of more than $13,669 per violation.
Officials say the incident at SBA was one of 10 firearms discovered at airport security checkpoints nationwide on Tuesday.
So far this year, TSA officers throughout the country have discovered 2,159 firearms in carry-on luggage, according to TSA.
To read TSA's policies on traveling legally with a firearm, click here.
