Plastic gun made with 3-D printer is seized from carry-on luggage at Nevada airport

Airport screening agents confiscated a plastic handgun produced with a 3-D printer from a man’s carry-on luggage last week at a Nevada airport in what a federal official said Wednesday might have been the first discovery of its kind in the US.

A report by Reno-Tahoe International Airport police said the white gun was a “replica” that couldn’t fire. However, it was loaded with five .22-calibre bullets.

“Whether it’s a replica or not, it’s not allowed,” Transportation Security Administration Agency spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said, noting that people in the airplane cabin might not be able to distinguish a real gun from a replica.

The bullets were detected on a luggage scanner, according to the police report obtained Wednesday.

The passenger was identified as Frederick Vandeman, 64, who told police he was a medical doctor who owns a 3-D printer and wanted to show his work to colleagues. He also said he had flown with the gun from Indiana and forgot it was in his bag.

Vandeman, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, declined to comment.

He chose to leave the gun and ammunition behind at the Reno airport and was allowed to continue travelling, Dankers said. He wasn’t charged with a crime.