Over the weekend TSA officers at McGhee Tyson Airport discovered a loaded gun in a passenger's carry-on bag.
Officers found the .38 caliber pistol around 9:30 on Saturday morning. They alerted airport police who confiscated the gun and ammunition.
This was the 16th firearm TSA officers have discovered this year at McGhee-Tyson.
Passengers who bring firearms to the checkpoint face a civil penalty up to $7,500.