More guns being found at Dayton International Airport

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More guns are being found in carry-on bags at airports across the country, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

According to the TSA, the numbers are going up at the Dayton International Airport too.

News Center 7 investigated why this is happening and what penalties gun-toting flyers are facing.

Every day at Dayton International, more than 8,000 people are screened by TSA officers at security checkpoints before they can board their flight. Each month, the agency takes about 100 pounds of prohibited items out of carry-on bags at those checkpoints.

Just in the last eight weeks, the TSA has removed items like hammers, knives, a toy grenade, brass knuckles, power tools and even an ice pick. All the items are removed for passenger safety.

But recently, more guns have been found in carry-on bags nationwide. In 2013, more than 1,800 firearms were found. That number jumped to over 2,200 last year. "The troubling part there is 75 to 80 percent of those firearms we're finding are loaded," said Mark Howell, a regional spokesperson for the TSA.

In Dayton, only one gun was found at the airport in 2013. But seven firearms were found at Dayton International Airport in 2014.

Of the seven guns found in carry-on luggage at the TSA security checkpoint in Dayton last year, six were loaded. Of those six firearms, two had a round chambered.

News Center 7 obtained the police reports and learned all seven passengers had a conceal-carry license and said they simply forgot they had a gun in their bag.

We went to Sim Trainer Indoor Range and Firearms Training Center in Moraine to talk to owner, Jeff Pedro for this story. Pedro is a retired Kettering Police officer and a conceal-carry instructor. We asked Pedro how someone might forget they have a loaded gun in an airport. "That's the issue that I think is worth of discussion," Pedro said.

Pedro takes his gun in checked baggage, which is allowed, when he flies. He says taking five minutes to check carry-on luggage before going to the airport can keep you out of trouble. "I carry my gun up to the time I get to the airport," Pedro said. "And then I go through the proper, safe protocol for unloading it, then securing it in the box and getting it ready for what I'm going to face 10 minutes later when I walk up to the check-in window."

All seven passengers caught last year paid a civil fine to the TSA, which can run as high as $7,000 for a first-time offender. But none was arrested or charged after background checks came back clean and the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office reviewed the cases. "At least in this part of the country, in this jurisdiction that's what the practice is today," said Terry Slaybaugh, the Director of Aviation for the City of Dayton. "But I know that in other parts of the country people are being prosecuted on a more regular basis when it occurs," Slaybaugh said.

Some flyers told us penalties for gun-toting passengers in Dayton are too soft.

"Too light. Definitely. They should be prosecuted." said Jim Appel from Dayton.

Others said the civil fine was enough.

"I think it's an appropriate fine," said Terri Smart from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. "People have to be aware you can't just tote your guns all over the place. You have to be aware; you have to keep it where it belongs."

None of the seven passengers caught with a gun agreed to an on-camera interview with News Center 7. But, one of them did speak to us on the phone. The local man said he paid a reduced fine of $750 to the TSA and eventually got his gun back.

The TSA is trying to get the word out: if you travel with a gun, it needs to be in a locked, hard-side case placed inside a checked bag and declared to the airline.