Airport security officers in Hawaii stopped a passenger after discovering a folding knife hidden inside the heel of a prosthetic leg, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
The incident unfolded at Honolulu International Airport after an off-duty law enforcement officer traveling for personal reasons noticed the passenger discreetly placing an object inside the prosthetic device, the TSA said in a June 19 news release.
The officer reported what they had seen to lead TSA officer Rayani Camara, who then alerted supervisory officer Michael Bugarin.
When the passenger reached the advanced imaging screening area, TSA officers informed the traveler that additional screening would be required.
After reviewing surveillance footage, officers confirmed that the passenger had placed an item on the prosthetic leg while standing at the divestiture table, where travelers remove personal belongings before passing through security.
Passengers may choose to remove prostheses, casts, braces, slings and other support devices before screening and submit them for X-ray inspection, according to TSA guidance. However, the Amputee Coalition says travelers are not required to remove prosthetic devices.
Those items can still be subject to additional screening, including visual inspection, hand-held metal detector checks and testing of both the traveler’s hands and the medical device for traces of explosives.
In this case, the passenger submitted the prosthetic leg for X-ray screening. Officers then discovered a folding knife concealed inside the underside of the heel.
The traveler was denied entry through the checkpoint and escorted away from the screening area.
Nanea Vasta, the TSA’s federal security director for Hawaii, said the discovery showed why constant awareness is critical inside airports.
“This incident is a powerful reminder that situational awareness is essential at every moment — not just during routine screening,” Vasta said.
She praised Camara and Bugarin for their response and also thanked members of the traveling public, “whose alertness plays a vital role in our shared mission of safety.”
The TSA highlighted another unusual airport discovery last month involving a passenger at Indianapolis International Airport.
In that case, a traveler allegedly tried to conceal two live smoke grenades in a bag, including one that had been shoved into a full jar of peanut butter, according to a June 25 TSA news release.
The passenger’s bag triggered an alarm, prompting a supervisory officer and an explosives specialist to inspect the luggage.
“After all contents were removed from the bag, I thought, ‘Weren’t there two grenades in this bag?’” said Michael Dunphy, an explosives specialist with 18 years of TSA experience.
“After additional inspection of all the contents in the bag, it became obvious the second grenade was in the peanut butter jar, so I was surprised!”
