Photographer: Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images

TSA Missed Delta Passenger's Meat Cleaver at Security

Originally posted on Men's Journal | By Jessica McBride | Last updated Nov 20, 2025 9:12 AM ET

The Transportation Security Administration routinely posts photos and press releases showing bizarre items that passengers try to get past security. Items confiscated recently include a landmine and a wide variety of prohibited items.

However, TSA agents missed a meat cleaver.

The incident occurred at Portland's International Airport on November 13, according to USA Today. However, it was not widely reported until November 19.

Delta Air Lines told People that they “elected to deplane and re-screen the aircraft" after staff discovered the knife. The airline apologized to passengers for the delay. According to CNN, the flight arrived in Salt Lake City more than two hours later.

The TSA Acknowledged That the Passenger 'Passed Through the Security Checkpoint With a Meat Cleaver'

TSA released a statement confirming the incident.

“TSA is aware that a passenger departing Portland International Airport on Thursday passed through the security checkpoint with a meat cleaver in their carry-on bag,” the agency said in a statement to CNN.

According to CNN, the passenger boarded the flight from Portland to Salt Lake City before the item was discovered.

Delta staff spotted the passenger with the meat cleaver and reported the object to TSA as a "hazardous item," CNN reported, adding that police were then notified. No one was arrested, however.

TSA told CNN that the agency is working to “determine the circumstances surrounding this event” and “will take appropriate corrective action that could include additional training of the security screening workforce.”

“We take this matter very seriously.”

The TSA Has Managed to Catch a Number of Strange Objects at Security Checkpoints

The meat cleaver is far from the only bizarre object that TSA agents have encountered at airports recently. It's not clear why the passenger brought it on the plane.

"Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport detected an inert grenade during routine screening at the airport’s security checkpoint yesterday," TSA wrote in September.

"On Sunday, September 28, TSA officers discovered a grenade in a traveler’s carry-on bag. The security checkpoint was evacuated and closed until a TSA explosive specialist determined the grenade was inert. Replicas of explosives, such as hand grenades, are prohibited in both checked and carry-on baggage," a news release says.

In addition, they have confiscated firearms. "Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers stopped a man from carrying a loaded firearm onto an airplane at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) on Monday, June 16," TSA wrote.

"During Monday morning security screening in Terminal A, a TSA officer detected a firearm in the 29-year-old male’s carry-on bag. TSA officers immediately alerted Massachusetts State Police (MSP) who confirmed there was an unloaded 9mm firearm in the bag," the release says.

In another incident, "Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers intercepted a knife and saw blade artfully concealed inside a walking cane during routine X-ray screening at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) on Tuesday, June 17," wrote TSA.

"Passengers who bring knives, saw blades and similar sharp objects to the nation’s airports are only permitted to pack them in checked baggage. The officer who made the unique discovery noted an object in the X-ray image that required further inspection," the agency wrote.

This article first appeared on Men's Journal and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: