TSA finds sharp “mutant blades” in carry-on bag at Seattle airport

Two TSA agents uncovered a sharp object that could have been plucked from the pages of a comic book or a horror film, while scanning luggage at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. One agent said he’d never seen anything like it since joining TSA two years ago, while the agency described the offending item as “mutant blades.”

The officers, identified as Douglas Linn and Dennis Oishi, spotted the blades while reviewing X-ray images at one of the airport’s security checkpoints and proceeded to search the bag, TSA said. 

What they found, the agency said, “resembled a mix between Wolverine-style claws and Freddy Krueger blades,” referencing the fictional Marvel Universe character and the notorious villain from “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”  TSA said the dangerous discovery should serve as a reminder “that some accessories are better suited for movie screens than airplane cabins.”

“Not a Marvel-ous idea in your carry-on bag,” the agency wrote Tuesday in a post on X, which included photos of the spooky apparatus as well as a reminder to travelers: “Please pack all mutant blades in a checked bag.” 

Linn, the officer who initially flagged the carry-on bag containing the blades, recalled his surprise when they first popped up on the X-ray screen.

“I saw three blades and distinct claw-like features,” he said in a statement. “I was amazed, and even more so when it came out of the bag. I had never seen anything like this during my two years at TSA.”

The passenger, who said he’d forgotten the item was in his luggage, voluntarily abandoned the blades at the security checkpoint once Oishi, who’d searched the bag, removed them. 

Ann Rhoades, the supervisory TSA officer, said in another statement that the blades were among “the most unusual items” she’d encountered in her seven years with the agency.

“My first thought was, ‘Oh my gosh,’ and my second thought was, ‘Is this what I think it is?'” said Rhoades.

Air travelers are allowed to pack sharp objects, like box cutters, corkscrews, darts and knives in their checked baggage, as long as the items are “sheathed or securely wrapped to prevent injury to baggage handlers and inspectors,” according to TSA’s guidelines.