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TSA: What not to bring on a plane | TribLIVE.com
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TSA: What not to bring on a plane

Kristina Serafini

From hammers to hatchets, miniature baseball bats to tire irons, camping forks to cat-eye knuckles, Transportation Security Administration agents have seen it all.

And agents have probably confiscated it as well.

Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the TSA, said as the number of travelers increases, so does the number of prohibited objects collected at airport security checkpoints. In the past week alone, about 35 pounds of forbidden items were taken from passengers attempting to board flights at Pittsburgh International Airport..

“It’s a matter of people not realizing they have it with them,” Farbstein said of items that people might regularly carry, such as Swiss Army knives.

“We don’t believe there’s malicious intent.”

Farbstein said passengers who are unsure what they can fly with can tweet the AskTSA Twitter account, check the TSA homepage, download the MyTSA app or call the TSA Contact Center.

Kristina Serafini is a TribLive photojournalist covering Southwestern Pennsylvania. She is a Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate. Her work has been honored locally and nationally. She can be reached at kserafini@triblive.com.

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Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review
Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, shows some throwing knives as she talks about items confiscated by TSA agents during a press event at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019.
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Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review
A Transportation Security Administration agents places hatchets on a table during a press event at Pittsburgh International Airport featuring items confiscated by Transportation Security Administration agents Friday, Aug. 23, 2019.
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Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review
Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, holds a credit card knife as she talks about items confiscated by TSA agents during a press event at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019.
1581073_web1_ptr-TSAforbidden7-082419
Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review
Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, holds a knife and machete as she talks about items confiscated by TSA agents during a press event at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019.
1581073_web1_ptr-TSAforbidden9-082419
Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review
Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, shows a knife that resembles a gun as she talks about items confiscated by TSA agents during a press event at Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019.
1581073_web1_ptr-TSAforbidden4-082419
Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review
A knife rests on a table during a press event at Pittsburgh International Airport featuring items confiscated by Transportation Security Administration agents Friday, Aug. 23, 2019.
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