• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » News » Delta Pilot Leaves Handgun Sitting In Cockpit
Delta Air LinesNews

Delta Pilot Leaves Handgun Sitting In Cockpit

Matthew Klint Posted onMarch 4, 2019November 14, 2023 49 Comments

a child holding a gun

I’m certainly prone to leaving mobile phones and passports behind on airplanes, but handguns? One Delta pilot went home but forgot the handgun, leaving it sitting in the cockpit for cleaning crews to find later.

We don’t have the details about who the pilot is or what aircraft s/he flew. All we know is that the incident happened in Atlanta on February 18th.

While Delta is usually quick to comment on matters of interest and controversy, it is not offering much insight here.

Delta ground crews followed procedures and turned over to law enforcement an item that was found in the flight deck after the flight’s arrival. Delta is working with relevant authorities in their handling of this case and will conduct its own review.

Asked by the Associated Press if the pilot would face any disciplinary matters, Delta declined to comment, calling the issue an internal matter.

For its part, the TSA confirmed the incident occurred and offered two additional clues.

TSA is aware of an incident at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport involving agency-issued equipment. Although we are not at liberty to discuss specific details, we can say that the public was never in harm’s way. TSA takes all allegations of policy and procedure violations seriously and when substantiated, appropriate action is taken.

A couple of thoughts on this. This statement indicates the pilot must have been part of the TSA Federal Flight Deck Officer program. This post 9/11 program arms specially-trained pilots to prevent against “attack and piracy.” Second,  if the public was never in harm’s way, I trust that means the gun was not loaded and in some sort of locked or secure box. But that’s just speculation…

CONCLUSION

Here, even if passengers were never in danger, let us be thankful that the gun did not fall into the wrong hands. Can you imagine little Joey entering the cockpit, finding the gun, and picking it up?

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article Southwest Wages War Against Its Mechanics
Next Article Review: United Airlines 757-300 First Class Honolulu To Los Angeles

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Airline Stocks

    Mixed Financial Results Paint Murky Travel Picture In 2025

    May 4, 2025
  • American Airlines CEO Vision

    American Airlines Staff Bonus As Out Of Touch As Management

    January 26, 2025
  • election travel

    Report: Americans Avoiding Travel During Election Week

    October 27, 2024

49 Comments

  1. Stuart Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    I admit to laughing at the Airplane reference of “little Joey.” Nice one, Matthew.

    • Cherie Burton Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 4:49 pm

      Me too

  2. Sage Kurtis Evans Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 12:27 pm

    Why is there a photo of a young boy pointing a gun on this article? Are boys allowed unattended in the cockpit aircraft? Are young boys on groundcrews? I must have missed the relevant facts that would merit such a misleading photograph.

    • Matthew Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 12:36 pm

      Just a stock photo.

      • Lee Reply
        March 4, 2019 at 12:55 pm

        Dumb stock photo, Matthew!!

        • Mari Gutierrez Reply
          March 4, 2019 at 5:51 pm

          I concur!

      • TJ Reply
        March 4, 2019 at 1:06 pm

        Using that picture was a calculated move. Not very professional!

      • Pr@ Reply
        March 4, 2019 at 4:30 pm

        Cope out response Matthew. We all know it was done on purpose. have enough conviction to be honest about it.
        #clickbait

        • Matthew Reply
          March 4, 2019 at 5:09 pm

          Of course it was done deliberately. I have to choose the stock photo. See the Joey reference above.

    • Mari Gutierrez Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 5:55 pm

      Completely misleading “ stock” photo used to push perhaps his “Matts” agenda… Matt May also be a CNN writer. That would explain things…

    • Valerie Walker Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 9:29 pm

      You’re correct. As a retired DAL captain and one of the first 80 FFDOs in the nation after 9/11, I can assure you that “little Joey” and any unauthorized person will not enter the cockpit unauthorized…on the ground or in the air. The pilot will no longer be part of the FFDO program and no doubt be put on administrative leave. Beyond that I can’t reply to your speculation about FFDO procedures without violating our security terms. I can only say that if these procedures had been followed, as 99.9% of the thousands of FFDOs do and have done daily for 16 years now, this never would have happened. I know news, to get maximum attention, must be made to appear as outrageous as possible. The stock photo of a little boy pointing a gun does all of that but suggests this was how the firearm was found. The truth was quite spectacular and embarrassing enough without misrepresenting it to promote an agenda. You’re better than this.

  3. Matt Clancy Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 12:28 pm

    Another idiot with a gun.

    Wait, it’s georgia, what else could you expect…you never know when you’ll have to shoot an unarmed black man at 30,000 ft, guilty of traveling while black.

    • Tiann Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 1:09 pm

      Matt you are such an ignorant idiot!

      • John M. Reply
        March 4, 2019 at 1:56 pm

        I second the motion! Not just with this article thou, but on QUITE A FEW that this author tries to publish. And yeah, little Joey is fumbling around the cockpit after hours all by himself. Also, you think that if the weapon was secured in a locked box, that the cleaning crew actually broke the box open to discover the weapon ???

      • Joe Public Reply
        March 4, 2019 at 5:23 pm

        Matt and Matthew are both dumb asses. We, the public, need protection. I don’t even know why this had to be reported other than for liberal satisfaction to slander authorized and responsible gun owners.

        • Mar Reply
          March 4, 2019 at 5:59 pm

          EXACTLY!!! It’s all the Libtards and “fake news” contributers ! Ignorance at its finest!

          • Debit
            March 5, 2019 at 1:51 am

            Stop being a snowflake dumbass.

        • AVLspotter Reply
          March 5, 2019 at 6:00 pm

          If we banned guns, we wouldn’t need them for protection.

    • Kraken1 Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 2:17 pm

      Assh*ole.

    • Dave Lasky Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 2:36 pm

      Here’s a fact, more armed black men are killed than unarmed. So stop repeating your dad’s mantra.

      • Aztec Reply
        March 4, 2019 at 9:06 pm

        Huh? What are you trying to say? Being killed and being unarmed are mutually exclusive? Really, I’m not being sarcastic but I literally have no idea what your point might be.

  4. Zach Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 12:49 pm

    “locked and secured in a box”
    Yep you’re a lefty

    • Matthew Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 1:30 pm

      You’d be surprised.

      • Bruce Wolf Reply
        March 4, 2019 at 6:10 pm

        You’re full of your self

  5. Chris Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 1:53 pm

    What was the point of this article? A story about there not being a story? Talk about minutes of aimless internet browsing that I’ll never get back. Stick to your real job Matthew.

    • Matthew Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 11:41 pm

      I thought the most interesting thing was that Delta won’t comment on it.

  6. Kraken1 Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 2:18 pm

    Assh*ole.

  7. Dave Lasky Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 2:32 pm

    So the pilot made a human mistake. At the end of a long workday, tired, hungry, maybe the wife or child is dying from cancer and can’t wait to get home to the loved one. I hate this judgemental peon world. You don’t know the whole story, and never will. Worry about what you have done and do in life. Believe it or not you are not the smartest one in the room. Move on there is nothing to see here.

  8. DK Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 2:45 pm

    I’m okay with pilots carrying guns. But I would prefer them to carry knives or a stun gun just in case a bullet ripped a hole through the skin of the plane causing it to depressurize at altitude . I want the pilots armed. They are responsible for their lives and ours in the air. Also, when I was little we were trained on proper gun handling by middle school. Stay sharp little Joey.

  9. Debit Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 2:53 pm

    This is fake news.

    The only really news is that white Republican males are scum. They have no ideology. They only have outcomes in mind and fit their message according to outcomes. Which mean they are hypocritical scum.

    • Hypocritical Scum Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 3:40 pm

      Way to stereotype. The birthplace of racism. Did you use a thesaurus to type that response as you are clearly not intelligent enough to have a vocabulary.

      • Debit Reply
        March 4, 2019 at 5:11 pm

        Talk to trump first. Like I said white Republican males are scum. If only they had made as much noise when trump was stereotyping non whites.

  10. Tim Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 4:01 pm

    Things happen. No one got hurt. Not a very big deal.

  11. Bruce Wolf Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 6:06 pm

    Stupid photo get real are you serious?

  12. Terry A Flauding Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 6:55 pm

    Laws are made and passed when people are scared. Presenting stories like this in an irresponsible way to frighten people isn’t reporting. It’s pushing your own bias and agenda.

    • Matthew Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 7:22 pm

      I’m not trying to frighten anyone. But if someone is entrusted with a gun in a flying metal tube that can rapidly de-pressurize at 40,000 feet, I expect a higher level of care than this.

      • Aztec Reply
        March 4, 2019 at 9:13 pm

        But that’s not what you stated as your fear – it was ‘Joey’ getting his hands on the gun. If the danger of accidental discharge was your preeminent concern the use of the stock photo of a kid pointing a gun was a bit gratuitous, don’t you think?

        • Matthew Reply
          March 4, 2019 at 9:15 pm

          They are both concerns. It’s just sloppy and unacceptable. Some professions just cannot afford “having a bad day” or “innocent mistake”.

          • Steve
            March 5, 2019 at 11:34 am

            Honestly, Mattthew, “sloppy and unacceptable” would describe your lack of objective reporting and opining is this piece. Seems to be a trend in print journalism these days.

  13. Peacewise Reply
    March 4, 2019 at 11:00 pm

    “let us be thankful that the gun did not fall into the wrong hands.”

    Because there have been zero measures implemented to prevent “the wrong hands” from having access to a commercial airliner cockpit. Why, anyone from the pilots to the flight crew to the pilots could manage to get in there! And we don’t even know who they are, they could be terrorists for all we know!

    • Matthew Reply
      March 4, 2019 at 11:39 pm

      Right, or janitors cleaning the plane.

  14. YULtide Reply
    March 5, 2019 at 10:40 pm

    And here I thought the co-pilot was just using an expression when he said he was riding shotgun.

  15. Pingback: South African Airways pilot resigns over fake licence, new Venice tourist tax approved and other stories - Tricks of the Trade

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • a person holding a dish of ice cream
    United Airlines Adds Aperol Spritz, Caramel Sundaes, And New First Class Meals May 30, 2025
  • American Airlines Pinky Lawsuit
    Midair Meltdown: American Airlines Passenger Grabs Flight Attendant, Drags Her Down Aisle May 30, 2025
  • United JetBlue Strategy
    Analysis: United Hopes To Contain Delta, Suppress American With JetBlue Partnership May 29, 2025
  • JetBlue United Blue Sky
    Details: New JetBlue – United “Blue Sky” Partnership Includes JFK Slots, Reciprocal Loyatly Perks May 29, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) May 1, 2025
  • a hand holding a blue card
    Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Bonus Offer Ending Soon May 2, 2025
  • Aegean Airlines Feast
    A Feast Fit For A King On Aegean Airlines May 23, 2025
  • United American O’Hare gate dispute
    United Airlines To American Airlines: Fly More, Sue Less May 6, 2025

Archives

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.