TSA finds sharp ‘mutant blades’ in carry-on bag at Seattle airport: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this’

Two TSA agents discovered a sharp object that could have been ripped from the pages of a comic book or horror movie while scanning luggage at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. One agent said he had never seen anything like it since joining the TSA two years ago, while the agency described the offending item as “mutant blades.”

The agents, identified as Douglas Linn and Dennis Oishi, spotted the blades while reviewing X-ray images at one of the airport security checkpoints and conducted a search of the bag, the TSA said.

What they found, the agency said, “looks like a mix between Wolverine-style claws and Freddy Krueger blades,” referencing the fictional character from the Marvel Universe and the notorious villain from “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” The TSA said the dangerous discovery should serve as a reminder “that some accessories are better suited to movie screens than airplane cabins.”

“This is not a wonderful idea in your carry-on bag,” the agency wrote Tuesday in a post on

Linn, the officer who initially flagged the carry-on bag containing the blades, recalled his surprise when they first appeared on the X-ray screen.

“I saw three blades and distinct claw-like features,” he said in a statement. “I was amazed, and even more so when it came out of the bag. I had never seen anything like it in my two years at TSA.”

The passenger, who said he forgot the item was in his luggage, intentionally abandoned the blades at the security checkpoint once Oishi, who had searched the bag, removed them.

Ann Rhoades, the TSA supervisory agent, said in another statement that the blades were among the “most unusual objects” she had encountered in her seven years with the agency.

“My first thought was, ‘Oh my God,’ and my second thought was, ‘Is that what I think?'” Rhoades said.

Air travelers are allowed to carry sharp objects, like cutters, corkscrews, darts and knives in their checked baggage, as long as the items are “sheathed or securely packaged to avoid injury to baggage handlers and screeners,” according to TSA guidelines.