Ernest E. Abbott, an FAA aviation safety Inspector, pleaded guilty last week in a U.S. District Court in Atlanta to entering a secure airport area and boarding an aircraft while in possession of a firearm. At the time of the January incident Abbott was on duty when he bypassed a TSA screening point in Atlanta by using an officially issued airport security badge and boarded an outbound flight to La Guardia while carrying a handgun in his carry-on baggage. He subsequently flew in the aircraft cockpit jump seat to La Guardia with the undeclared firearm in his possession.
Abbott was sentenced to 12 months probation and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and suspended from his position with the FAA. He was later released on bond in New York for local firearms violations. The joint FAA/FBI investigation showed Abbott was caught because did not have a New York Airport Security Identification and was undergoing a mandatory TSA screening before leaving LGA for the return trip to ATL when the weapon was discovered.