The weird and worrying weapons seized at US airports in 2013

THEY brought what onto a plane? Every gun, ninja star, suicide vest and deadly tube of lipstick passengers tried to smuggle on-board revealed.

Someone actually tried to bring this onto a flight. Source: TSA

GUNS, ninja stars, swords disguised as walking sticks and a suicide vest. These are just a few of the thousands of weapons seized at American airports last year.

Before you get annoyed the next time you're asked to remove your shoes at airport security have a think about this number: 1,813. This was the number of firearms discovered in carry-on luggage in the US in 2013. And that's just firearms.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has revealed on its blog the sheer number of illegal dangerous weapons and unusual items people tried to smuggle onto planes.

In America alone the TSA officers screened 638,705,790 people in 2013. Most of those played by the rules and left their assault rifles and lip balm at home but there was still a staggering 1,813 guns confiscated (1,477 of those loaded) - a rise of 16.5 per cent from last year.

If the thought of all these guns trying to filter their way through security was worrying enough, there was even more frightening items seized:

"After causing an alarm in checked baggage, Officers found a 3.2 ounce flask of black powder, 22 feet of fuse, a large empty CO2 cartridge, and miscellaneous ammunition in a passenger's bag at Anchorage," it read.

"Electric detonators and a block of inert C4 with duct tape and wires protruding were discovered in two separate incidents at Seattle (SEA) in checked baggage.

"A passenger at Norfolk (ORF) had six inert pressure plates, 50 inert initiators, an inert landmine, inert explosives, and two initiation systems in the his bag. An inert Claymore mine was discovered in a checked bag at San Jose."

This suicide vest was found at Indianapolis but turned out to be a training aid. Source: TSA

Some of these items were toys and replicas, including the discovery of a suicide vest. While this was found out to be a training aid used by an explosives instructor, it was real enough looking to alert officers and close terminals and delay flights.

But how are people trying to smuggle these weapons through?

The blog noted some of the more inventive ways including seven undeclared firearms hidden in a toolbox, a shotgun hidden in a golf bag and a pistol disguised in a cassette deck.

There were also knives concealed within pens, shoe soles, belt buckles, toothbrush holders, combs, mobile phones and credit cards.

A shuddering collection of ninja stars and knives found in bags. Source: TSA

Things got even more exotic with a pepper spray designed to look like lipstick, a cigarette pack that doubled as a stun gun, a variety of ninja stars, a countless number of canes that were actually swords and then one guy who actually tried to carry on a mace. Yes, a mace - a medieval weapon with a spiked ball on the end of a stick.

Someone actually tried to bring this onto a flight. Source: TSA

Some of the more inventive ways passengers tried to elude security by stashing weapons in items such as mobile phones, combs and lipsticks. Source: TSA

While it may be pretty frightening to know some people are actually trying to take such items on planes these days, it would be even more frightening to find out people actually succeeded. Take off my belt, you say? No problem.