SEATTLE (CBS5) -
Seattle police said they found a gun and ammunition in the bag of an airline employee when she was en-route to Phoenix earlier this month. But the question it raises - did that same gun get through Sky Harbor security?
At a time when you can't even have shampoo at 30,000 feet, how did a semi-automatic handgun belong to a Piedmont Airline employee end up in our not-so-friendly skies? It's a question CBS 5 News is still trying to answer.
In a police report obtained by CBS 5 News, Port of Seattle police said they stopped Jessica Marise Erb at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on July 4. They said she tried to get through security - bound for Phoenix - with a semi-automatic handgun in her bag. Not only was it loaded, but there five more rounds with it.
According to the report, Erb told officers it was her gun, but didn't know it was with her. Erb told officers she had the gun in her bag during a camping trip in Payson two weeks ago but said she since emptied it.
What may be more concerning is that she said screeners at Sky Harbor International Airport made no mention of the gun when she flew to Seattle the day before.
CBS 5 News was told Erb worked in fleet services for Piedmont Airlines, which is owned by U.S. Airways. While a spokesman for the airline told us doesn't work for them anymore, he didn't know when exactly she was fired.
CBS 5 tried to contact Erb but were told she wasn't home and we left our contact information.
We reached out to the TSA wanting to hear their side of the story, but we have yet to hear back.
Copyright 2012 CBS 5 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
