Man 'forgot he had gun on plane'

[Pert_UK]

"An Israeli man forgot he was carrying a loaded pistol in his hand luggage when he flew into Britain for a holiday, a court has heard. Benjamin Lehman, 48, from the West Bank, managed to pass security checks at Tel Aviv and Heathrow without the weapon being discovered.

But he was eventually caught when he returned to Heathrow for a flight to New York a few days later...

London's Isleworth Crown Court heard that the 9mm Steyr M9 pistol, which contained 10 rounds of ammunition, was found in one of the pockets as it passed through an X-ray machine on June 17, 2004.

Lehman told police that in the rush to pack he simply forgot he still had the loaded weapon with him."

Full story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4146985.stm

Good to see that security checking is working well then.....

P.

[Kagemusha]

1. Uh yeah, him getting past Tel Aviv... like, wha...?

Or maybe it's not such an innocent situation. Who knows.

[Pert_UK]

3. I did the same thing once, but with nail clippers.......

Flew from London to Scotland with only hand luggage 'cause I was only staying one night.

Flew back the next day only to be stopped at Edinburgh airport because they notice nail clippers (with a blade) in my washbag, going through X-ray. Nobody had spotted it on the outward journey.

But I mean JESUS, flying from Tel Aviv with a gun without anybody spotting it? I thought that was the most secure airport / vetting system in the world?

[Cooley Hurd]

2. In a related story, man forgets H-bomb in luggage...

"Crap! I thought I left that home???";)

[xultar]

4. How will we protect ourselves from the pilots, aren't they packin heat?

What if a pilot goes bezerk cuz his wife and girlfriend left him and became lovers? It seems everyone is packin heat while in flight except for me.

[WildClarySage]

7. many many many many years ago

my mom's cousin, a pilot for United, shot and killed his co-pilot, the husband of his then girlfriend. He went to jail for life, and every time I think about what a 'great' idea it is to give pilots guns, I think of good old cousin Jerry and what a good idea a gun was for him to have. :eyes:

[xultar]

10. I remember that my mom worked for United when it happend. I'm

sorry to hear about the affect it had on your family.

People have all sorts of stresses in their lives and we bring them to work, we take them on the roads, and we take them to church and the stores in which we shop.

No one on a plane should have a gun.

[ET Awful]

5. NOBODY gets past Israeli airport security with a gun.

I don't buy it. The airport security in Israel is stricter and more robust than any in the world.

I think there's something fishy here.

[xultar]

11. That's cuz Bubba, Megan, and LaQuicha aren't workin in Israel's

airport security.

[Pert_UK]

6. Just noticed a material error in the report....

"Benjamin Lehman...managed to pass security checks at Tel Aviv and Heathrow without the weapon being discovered.

But he was eventually caught when he returned to Heathrow for a flight to New York a few days later..."

There ARE no security checks for hand luggage as you come into Heathrow (unless you happen to get pulled by customs for a random search) - the assumption is that if you've passed security when you boarded the plane, you're clean when you land. There's no fault with Heathrow here - they found the gun on the first occasion that they had to look for it.

[pinniped]

8. So this jerk forgot he had the gun the whole time in the UK?

?

[Pert_UK]

9. I was wondering about that......

and also why he isn't being charged with illegal possession of a firearm, which would lead to a mandatory jail sentence IIRC....Also, why was he going on holiday with a gun anyway? If he just picked up a bag that happened to have his gun in it and set off on holiday without checking, then he's an asshole for not knowing where his weapons are.

P.

[xultar]

12. Cuz he couldn't find the guy he was gonna shoot in the UK. n/t

[Buns_of_Fire]

13. That's the part that gets me...

I used to have a CCW permit at one place I worked, and, believe me, I NEVER forgot when I was carrying and when I wasn't. I don't buy the now-standard bushit about "I forgot I had it." IMO, if a person is that damned scatterbrained, they needn't be carrying a gun in the first place. :grr: