TSA officers at the Burlington airport say they found a loaded gun in a man's carry-on bag over the weekend.

Saturday started off as a typical day at Burlington International Airport until the alerts at a security checkpoint went off after detecting a loaded handgun.

TSA says the 9 millimeter handgun was loaded with five bullets in a Knoxville,Tennessee, man's carry-on that went through the X-ray machine.

According to the TSA, passengers are allowed to travel with guns but only in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared.

TSA says last year more than 4,200 firearms were discovered at airports across the country -- two of them at Burlington International Airport. Eighty-six percent of them were loaded.

A TSA spokesperson says most travelers caught with a loaded gun say they simply forgot they had it on them.

The first offense is $3,900. To avoid this fine, TSA urges all gun owners to be aware of their firearm's location at all times, especially when traveling.

Burlington Police Deputy Chief Jon Murad say the Tennessee man faces no charges and he was allowed to fly. He says the man told officers he was planning to return to Vermont, and police agreed to hold the gun until he came back.

The U.S. Attorney's office is also investigating. It is a federal crime to have a gun with you on a plane, but since this man's gun was confiscated before he boarded, it's unclear if he broke the law.