FBI: Man tried to sneak knife onto a plane

Crime • Man was found with an acrylic folding knife with a 3-inch blade in his pants pocket.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

FBI investigators say a man tried to sneak a knife onto a plane Thursday at Salt Lake City International Airport to see if he could and as an act of rebellion.

The man was charged Friday with possession of a dangerous weapon while attempting to board an aircraft in the U.S. District Court.

On Thursday, he checked into his flight from Salt Lake City to Charlotte, N.C. and got in line for the security checkpoint.

The man was going through screening when a Transportation Security Administration personnel noticed "an anomaly" on his person, according to the charges. He was subjected to more screening, in which TSA personnel found an acrylic folding knife with a three-inch blade in his pants pocket.

"I have two of these knives. I bought this one for the explicit purpose of trying to get it through to the airplane," he told officers during questioning. He wanted to see if he could get it past security, and wanted to be "rebellious and anti-authority," the charges add.

mmcfall@sltrib.com