A Butler County man “forgot” he had a loaded handgun in his coat pocket when he went through security at Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday, according to security officials.

Transportation Security Administration officials spotted the gun as it went through the checkpoint X-ray scanner in a bin, according to TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein. The .380-caliber handgun was in the Mars man’s jacket pocket.

Farbstein said the man told Allegheny County Police that he’d forgotten the loaded gun was in his pocket. She said the “I forgot” excuse is the most common heard by TSA officials, but “that’s never a good excuse for bringing a loaded gun to the airport checkpoint.”

It was the fifth gun caught at Pittsburgh International so far this year. In 2019, 35 were stopped at checkpoints, up from 34 and 23 in 2018 and 2017, respectively.

The number of firearms found in carry-on bags has surged nationally, too, up 5% in 2019 to 4,432. Of those, Farbstein said, 87% were loaded.

A concealed carry permit does not negate federal laws for traveling with firearms.

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