TSA confiscates rocket-propelled grenade launcher at Pennsylvania airport
The launcher was unassembled and non-functioning, the TSA said.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confiscated a "military rocket propelled grenade launcher" at a Pennsylvania airport on Monday.
The grenade launcher was found in pieces and unassembled in a man's checked bag at Lehigh Valley International Airport, TSA Public Affairs spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said in a Twitter post.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/tsa-grenade-launcher-01-ap-jef-190305_hpMain_12x5_992.jpg)
In a press release, the TSA said that the launcher belonged to a Florida man and that it set off alarms as it was passing through the airport's security equipment.
The unassembled pieces of the grenade launcher included a barrel, trigger, sights and a grenade replica, the TSA said.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/tsa-grenade-launcher-02-ht-jef-190305_hpEmbed_13x7_992.jpg)
"When assembled, the launcher was determined to be non-functioning and the grenade an inert replica," Farbstein wrote, adding, "(Thank goodness!)"
Pictures from the TSA indicate the device was over 3 feet long when assembled.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/tsa-grenade-launcher-03-ht-jef-190305_hpEmbed_33x14_992.jpg)
The man, from St. Augustine, Florida, was detained by police for questioning, the TSA said, adding that he told law enforcement he believed that he could bring the military rocket-propelled grenade launcher and replica grenade on his flight in a checked bag.
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/tsa-grenade-launcher-04-ht-jef-190305_hpEmbed_29x9_992.jpg)
"However, no realistic or replica weapons of military nature are permitted to be brought onto airplanes," the TSA press release said.
Bringing a weapon or replica weapon to the airport can get you a civil penalty up to $13,000 under TSA rules.
While the grenade launcher was confiscated, the TSA confirmed that the Florida man did make it onto his flight to Orlando Sanford International Airport.