A pilot from a Minnesota airline was arrested in Florida while trying to board an airplane with a loaded pistol in his luggage.
Brian Andrew Machtemes was scheduled to fly a Sun Country Airlines flight out of Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, Florida, around 6:50 p.m. on Oct. 26.
Machtemes, 54, a Minnetonka, Minnesota, resident, told a Lee County Port Authority police officer that he had packed his own bag. At that point, Machtemes was placed under arrest.
Sun Country Airlines spokeswoman Kirsten Wenker told the News-Press, “I can confirm he is a pilot for Sun Country.”
Permitting Problem
According to News-Press, Machtemes had a permit to carry the pistol, a .380-caliber KEL-TEC, in Michigan, but the permit was not valid in Florida.Further, TSA regulations only allow passengers to bring firearms on planes if they are unloaded and stored in a locked, hard-sided case, and carried as checked luggage, not carry-on.
Pilots are allowed to carry firearms on the flight deck, to prevent hijackings or disruptions by unruly passengers. As with passengers, pilots can only bring firearms on board in locked, hard-sided gun cases, the Star-Tribune reported. This law has been in place since 2003.
Sun Country Airlines said that before its pilots can carry firearms in flight, they must undergo 56 hours of training. After the training, the pilot is deputized as a federal law enforcement officer and is issued a TSA-approved firearm and the attendant permits.