TSA Agents Found a Live, 20-Pound Lobster in Checked Luggage at Boston Airport

"It's actually fairly common in the New England region.”

Maybe it was a pet. Maybe it was tomorrow night’s dinner. Maybe it was a confused stowaway. Or maybe it was this seafood restaurant resident of twenty years departing for a well-deserved vacation.

But whether it was on its way to a pot of boiling water or a lobster-friendly family vacation in Aruba, the live, 20-pound lobster found at Logan Airport’s Terminal C in Boston by Transportation Security Administration agents likely didn’t make it there on time.

The operative phrase is “on time.” Because the crazy part is, he or she was allowed to fly.

The lobster was found chilling (quite literally!) in a cooler amongst a bunch of checked luggage, and like the rest of us, TSA spokesman Michael McCarthy found the whole thing rather hilarious. He tweeted about the event the next day.

.@TSA officers are skilled at screening all sorts of items in checked baggage...including this 20+ pound lobster at @BostonLogan pic.twitter.com/euhyyO6F7V

— Michael McCarthy (@TSAmedia_MikeM) June 26, 2017

“@TSA officers are skilled at screening all sorts of items in checked baggage...including this 20+ pound lobster at @BostonLogan,” McCarthy wrote in the caption accompanying a photo of an officer holding up the gigantic lobster.

And as unusual of an occurrence as this might appear to be, the TSA is actually super prepared for crustacean finds: "A live lobster is allowed through security and must be transported in a clear, plastic, spill proof container,” reads a surprisingly relevant section of the Administration’s website, which also recommends letting the airline know about the lobster if you plan on carrying it aboard the plane, rather than checking it. As McCarthy told the Boston Globe, "It's actually fairly common in the New England region.”

Still, as McCarthy also noted, the size of the lobster may have made this particular case a significant one. “I would be shocked if this isn't the biggest lobster TSA has screened, although I can't say for certain," he told NPR.

And yet, the lobster—all 20 pounds of it—did make its way onto the plane (and, presumanbly onto its final destination). "The lobster was screened and allowed to continue on its way," McCarthy said.

We can only hope, probably in vain, that there was no butter sauce involved.