World | USA
Woman removed from plane after bringing loaded handgun aboard
65-year-old lawyer had forgotten that the weapon was in her bag
- AP
- Published: 00:00 January 20, 2012
Fort Worth: A 65-year-old lawyer was arrested on Wednesday for carrying a loaded handgun aboard an American Airlines jet at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Judith Kenney was released later on Wednesday on her own recognizance, said her attorney, Dallas lawyer David Finn.
Kenney carries a handgun for protection but had forgotten that it was in a computer bag she carried on board the plane, he said. She has no criminal history, he said.
Screeners at a security checkpoint had detected a gun in a woman's carry-on bag but she "picked up the bag and left the checkpoint before the screening process was over," said Greg Soule, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, which operates the checkpoints. When TSA screeners spot a gun in a bag, they are supposed to seize the bag and notify police, he said.
Officials got a photo of Kenney from a closed-circuit video system and showed it to airport employees. She was taken into custody by DFW Airport police about an hour and 40 minutes later, Soule said.
An airline spokesman said on Wednesday that the plane was headed for the runway when it returned to the gate and was met by airport police.
Kenney was removed from Flight 2385, scheduled to fly to Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport. The flight, with 128 passengers, was delayed for just over an hour and passengers were screened again before the plane took off, American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith said.
Airport officials said that Kenney would be charged with carrying a gun into a place where weapons are prohibited, a third-degree felony in Texas and punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
About 10 other flights were also delayed up to 25 minutes after the TSA closed DFW's Terminal D, Smith said.
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