TSA stops traveler with two-foot machete at security checkpoint: 'You can't make this stuff up'

A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Public Affairs spokeswoman took to Twitter to share a startling photo of a two-foot-long machete that had been confiscated at a security checkpoint at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.

“You can’t make up this stuff up,” TSA Public Affairs spokesperson Lisa Farbstein told Fox News. “It’s mind-boggling that somebody would think they could get on a plane with a two-foot machete."

Farbstein said that the most common prohibited item that people attempt to bring through TSA checkpoints are knives. Typically, TSA officers witness passengers trying to bring anything from kitchen knives to tactical knives.

“TSA officers at Bradley Airport stopped a traveler with this very long, very sharp machete at the checkpoint recently. Quick give me the top 5 reasons you'd need a machete on an airplane. Go! (Please use some humor.)" Farbstein wrote on Twitter.

"1. Emergency Seat Belt Cutter 2. Have you tried the Peppercorn Steak that @Delta serves? You'll need this. 3. @SpiritAirlines neglected cleaning planes... must find way to seat. 4. In case of Alien abduction 5. In-air barber shop shave," one person listed.

"Cut through the cookie or cracker packaging that is always impossible to open without spilling everywhere," another theorized.

Joking aside, Farbstein stressed why it is crucial for TSA agents to remain vigilant when it comes to contraband passing through checkpoints. “Keep in mind that the terrorists on 9/11 used box cutters, so no knives on the plane," she said.

There are several options a person can choose when they attempt to bring a prohibited item passed a checkpoint. One option is that they can return the item to their car. Alternatively, many airports have mailing centers, in which certain items can be shipped to a person's destination of choice.

The person who brought the machete to the airport was even given the option of including the item in a checked bag, which would be stored in the cargo hold and would not be accessible to the passenger during the flight. Fox News reports that the passenger chose to surrender the machete to the TSA.

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