Registered gun disappears without trace at Atlanta airport, livid owner says
ATLANTA - A Gwinnett County gun owner is livid after he says his checked weapon never made it to South Florida after his flight last week.
Even worse, the passenger now believes his customized gun was stolen by Atlanta airport officials.
The gun owner, who asked to remain anonymous, says he did everything right.
He checked his registered gun in with Delta Air Lines and even had an approved gun box. But as of Tuesday night, he still has no idea where that weapon is.
The Gwinnett County gun owner says he followed all the TSA rules when he checked his modified PSA Dagger in for travel on March 7.
"It's a one-off gun that I built. I went to check in my bag, which was the gun. It was in a gun case, which is a very small travel case for guns," the gun owner told FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor.
He says everything seemed fine at the airport. He even watched the weapon go through TSA security.
"She put all the stickers that are supposed to be on it. I watched it go through the X-ray machine," he said.
Behind the scenes at Atlanta's TSA checkpoint
As the summer travel season heats up, the men and women manning the TSA checkpoints at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport area beefing up security. The TSA let FOX 5's Tyler Fingert go behind the scene with the TSA to see how they are protecting travelers.
But the gun collector says once he and his wife's Delta flight arrived in Fort Lauderdale, the problems began.
"I said, ‘What happened?’ She said, ‘Your bag is delayed.’ I said, ‘What do you mean, delay?’ She said, 'It didn't make the flight.;"
The gun owner says a helpful Delta agent in Fort Lauderdale told him the airline map indicated the gun was still in Atlanta.
But once he returned to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, that story changed.
"He goes to type the number in, now it says the gun was never checked in. Not even through Delta, or TSA," he said. "So, somebody took it out of the system. What do you mean it's ghost?"
The 49-year-old says it has been two days and nobody has called him. He now suspects the worst.
"What do you think happened to your gun?" Aungelique Proctor asked.
"I think it got stolen. A gun disappeared in the airport and nobody is taking it seriously, or wants to find it, and now it's out of the system?" he questioned.
FOX 5 Atlanta reached out to Delta Air Lines and TSA, but neither has responded.