Monday, July 11, 2011
The cleaning crew of JetBlue Airways found a stun gun in the back pocket of a seat on a Boston-Newark flight in Newark, New Jersey. The gun was reported to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, then handed over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Transportation Security Administration, who is responsible for investigating how the weapon came aboard the aircraft despite intensive security screenings.
“Obviously it got on the plane somehow,” said FBI spokesperson Bryan Travers. “Did it get smuggled through security? Was it brought on some other way? That’s why it’s under investigation.”
The FBI have also said that the passenger that was sitting directly in front of the pocket was identified, but has not yet directly tied the passenger to the stun gun, which was described as a covert cellphone type that resembled a smartphone. A K-9 unit inspected the plane for further contraband, but found nothing. There was no indication that the gun was to be used in an attack.