loaded and undeclared .38-caliber handgun tumbled from a checked bag at Los Angeles International Airport last weekend, prompting police to detain the gun owner temporarily.

A luggage ramp crew discovered the weapon after it fell from an unzipped compartment in a duffel bag they were loading onto Alaska Airlines Flight 563, according to police and the airlines. The plane was leaving the terminal at 8:15 a.m. Sunday, bound for Portland, Ore.