A federal air marshal on a transatlantic flight reportedly forgot her loaded gun in the bathroom of a Delta plane headed from England to New York, where it was discovered by another passenger, WNYW reported.
The incident happened aboard Delta Flight 221, which was traveling from Manchester to John F. Kennedy International Airport on April 6, CNN reported. It was reported to the air marshal's management days later.
The New York Times reported that the passenger gave the weapon to a member of the flight crew, who returned it to the air marshal. But she failed to report the incident to her supervisor, which is required by law, for several days, the Times reported.
“You can’t have inept people leaving weapons in a lavatory,” Craig Sawyer, a former air marshal, told the Times. “If someone with ill intent gets hold of that weapon on an aircraft, they are now armed.”
The Transportation Security Administration said it was investigating the incident, WNYW reported.
In a statement to CNN, the TSA would confirm only that it is aware of an incident involving a federal air marshal on that date, and it is reviewing the circumstances.
A Delta spokesman said the airline is also aware of the incident but declined to provide further comment, CNN reported.
In 2015, a federal air marshal left his gun in a bathroom stall at Newark Liberty International Airport, WNYW reported. That gun was found by a janitor.
