Bodyguard's Gun Accidentally Fires On Airplane In Germany

A bodyguard reportedly fired his weapon on an airplane while passengers boarded around 8 a.m. Monday morning in Berlin.

A gun went off inside the jet bridge when passengers boarded a flight from Berlin’s Tegel Airport to Cologne, Germany. It was a German bodyguard who accidentally fired his pistol while he boarded the airplane, according to Germany’s The Local Monday.

The man reportedly worked for the Berlin Office of Criminal Investigation. He was tasked with protecting a "high ranking" Iraqi diplomat and new to the job, according to The Local.

The bullet ripped a hole in the jet bridge, which connected the terminal to the plane. Passengers were reportedly unharmed during the incident.

Travelers took to social media and described Monday's incident. Passenger Jürgen Trittin, a representative for the Green Party, shared his experience on Twitter.

Another flier said he sat three seats away from the bodyguard who fired his weapon. The passenger claimed that the bodyguard was "very nervous." He lamented about how guns should be kept safely with the captain in the cockpit.

The flight was reportedly delayed about 90 minutes before taking off. Police are investigating the incident to see if any violations occurred.

Federal Police spokesman Thorsten Peters told local Berlin newspaper The Berliner that "luckily, no one was injured" during the incident.

"We need to now investigate why the shot was fired. It is certainly unusual that something like this happened," a police spokesman said.

This wasn’t the first time an official fired a gun on an airplane. A gun carried by a U.S. Airways pilot reportedly went off on a flight to South Carolina in 2008, this was the first time a weapon issued under a federal program to arm pilots went off, authorities told CBS News.

The accidental gunshot happened aboard Flight 1536 from Denver, Colorado, to Charlotte, North Carolina. Passengers were unharmed by the incident, Greg Alter of the Federal Air Marshal Service told CBS News.

"We know that there was never any danger to the aircraft or to the occupants on board," Alter said.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) started the Flight Deck Officer program to train cockpit personnel after terrorists took over a flight during the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The program intended for pilots and other flight personnel to defend themselves should an attack occur.

Mike Boyd, who manages an aviation consulting firm The Boyd Group in Colorado, told CBS News that the TSA was put in an awkward position once Congress approved the program.

"The TSA has never been real supportive of this program," Boyd said. "It's something I think Congress kind of put on them.

Boyd claimed he supported the program to arm pilots with guns. However, he added that the incident could have been much worse.

"If somebody who has the ability to fly a 747 across the Pacific wants a gun, you give it to them," he said. "If that bullet had compromised the shell of the airplane, gone through a window, the airplane could have gone down."