Sun Country Pilot Arrested for .38 Handgun at Florida Airport

[Airbubba]

This seems to happen every few months, a lot of these cases never make the news in my experience.

A United pilot flushed ten bullets down the lav on the way to Munich a couple of years ago. And a cargo pilot jumpseater fired a round into the ticket counter in Anchorage while trying to get the last bullet out of his weapon to put in a checked bag. Everybody in Alaska seems to have guns and a pilot license.

A young colleague carries a gun in the truck for her three hour drive home after an international trip. The laws seem to be in conflict whether she can legally carry it over a state line and onto airport property to leave in her truck parked in a secure area.

Pilots love their guns but many are too cheap to buy an extra bag to carry to the shooting range with the inevitable result of a weapon or ammo discovered at a security checkpoint or while on the plane looking for an iPhone charging cable.

Sun Country Airlines pilot arrested, accused of having gun in carry-on suitcase at RSW airport, report says

Melissa Montoya, Fort Myers News-Press Published 10:11 a.m. ET Oct. 27, 2018 Updated 2:34 p.m. ET Oct. 27, 2018

A Sun Country Airlines pilot was arrested and accused of bringing in a gun to Southwest Florida International Airport Friday night.

According to a Lee County Port Authority arrest report, 54-year-old Brian Andrew Machtemes was arrested when a TSA agent found a firearm in his carry-on suitcase as he went through security.

Machtemes, of Minnesota, told a Lee County Port Authority police officer that he had packed his own bag.

The officer found a KEL-TEC .380 pistol in the second zipper pouch on the front of the suitcase. It was loaded with six rounds, the report states.

The arrest report states that Machtemes has a permit to carry in Minnesota, but it is not valid in Florida.

Machtemes declined to answer questions, instead opting to ask for an attorney, the report states.

According to the Transportation Security Administration website, a flight passenger may transport an unloaded firearm in a locked hard-sided container as checked baggage only.

The flight was rescheduled for Saturday because there was no replacement pilot at RSW, said Victoria Moreland, a spokeswoman for RSW.

Sun Country Airlines, known as "Minnesota's hometown airline," began operations in 1983, according to its website.

"I can confirm he is a pilot for Sun Country," said Kirsten Wenker, a spokeswoman for Sun Country Airlines, but she added: "In the interest of respecting the privacy of and preserving the trust of all our employees, we do not comment or confirm details related to individual employee conduct or work performance."

Machtemes remains in custody. Bail has been set at $5,000.

https://www.news-press.com/story/new...rt/1788241002/

Machtemes provided a valid Minnesota permit to carry, which is not recognized in Florida, the report said. According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Minnesota and Florida do not share reciprocity when it comes to permits to carry.

Sun Country issued the following statement about the incident:

"We're aware of the situation involving one of our pilots at the Fort Myers Airport and are in contact with local law enforcement. We are in the process of gathering information on what occurred. Right now, our focus is on taking care of our passengers. This evening's flight from RSW to MSP has been rescheduled to depart tomorrow at 12:10 p.m. We have provided hotels for tonight, as well as meal vouchers and a $200 flight voucher as a token of our apologies for the inconvenience this has caused."

https://kstp.com/news/minnesota-pilo...tcase/5124742/

[robertbartsch]

hmmm... Florida has gun carry reciprocity with 36 states meaing that if you have a gun carry permit issued from one of these states you can carry a gun in public legally in Florida. Unfortunately, for the pilot Minnesota is not one of those states. So we can assume he is not lawfully carrying a gun in Florida AND did not lawfully check an unloaded gun in a locked case.

I thought after 9/11/01 that polits were permitted to carry guns in the cabin under certain cases????

[rotornut]

A .380 is not a .38.

[er340790]

The arrest report states that Machtemes has a permit to carry in Minnesota, but it is not valid in Florida

And there, mes amis, you have it. Governmental inter-level bureaucracy at its finest.

Not forgetting, of course, that if said pilot was a real terrorist, how much carnage could he achieve with a fully-loaded airplane. Doh!

[Longtimer]

Originally Posted by er340790

And there, mes amis, you have it. Governmental inter-level bureaucracy at its finest.

Not forgetting, of course, that if said pilot was a real terrorist, how much carnage could he achieve with a fully-loaded airplane. Doh!

Of course you could say "Stupid is as Stupid does" ….. Too dumb to know that he can not carry a gun but smart enough to pilot an aircraft full of passengers...… ????????

[4runner]

He probably forgot about it. I’ve been flagged for having explosive residue a week after shooting. A lot of pilots use their luggage, even when off duty. Not an excuse, but an explanation. I may or not be an FFDO.

[A Squared]

Originally Posted by robertbartsch

I thought after 9/11/01 that polits were permitted to carry guns in the cabin under certain cases????

That is the Federal Flight Deck Officer program. That's a pretty tightly regulated program, it requires training, and allows a pilot to carry a specific firearm issued by the Federal Government.. There are many more requirements which are beyond the scope of this thread. There is nothing which allows a pilot to bring his own personal weapon aboard.

[A Squared]

Originally Posted by Airbubba

And a cargo pilot jumpseater fired a round into the ticket counter in Anchorage while trying to get the last bullet out of his weapon to put in a checked bag.

I hadn't heard of this incident. Got a link?

Originally Posted by Airbubba

Everybody in Alaska seems to have guns and a pilot license.

The per-capita incidence of both is substantially higher than average.

[A Squared]

Originally Posted by robertbartsch

hmmm... Florida has gun carry reciprocity with 36 states meaning that if you have a gun carry permit issued from one of these states you can carry a gun in public legally in Florida. Unfortunately, for the pilot Minnesota is not one of those states. So we can assume he is not lawfully carrying a gun in Florida

The laws on what constitutes "carrying" vary from state to state. "Carrying", in a general sense usually refers to carrying a loaded weapon concealed on your person, accessible for use. By contrast, in many states, having an unloaded handgun in a piece of luggage woudn't be something that you would be required to have a permit for. (and in some states like New Jersey, you would need a permit for that. ) So, given that the gun was loaded, this falls somewhere between those situations. One would have to take a look at Florida's firearms possession laws to determine whether this was illegal under Florida law. Clearly, trying to get it though airport security, even inadvertently, is illegal.

[Airbubba]

Originally Posted by A Squared

I hadn't heard of this incident. Got a link?

I don't have the news article but it did get local coverage in the Anchorage Daily News years ago. It was a FedEx pilot getting a jumpseat on American as I recall. I believe he had a hunting rifle to put in the checked hard case and somehow a round was inadvertently discharged. Not sure if it's still done but in the past the bag rooms at the ANC layover hotels had a lot of gun cases and large duffels with crew tags that held hunting gear for those weekend layovers.