A rifle went off at the Kodiak airport Friday injuring no one, Alaska State Troopers said.

A passenger traveling to Kodiak from Fairbanks via Anchorage brought the gun with him on an Era Aviation flight to Kodiak as one of his checked bags. The gun arrived on the island damaged, trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson said.

Airline employees inspected the gun and took pictures of the damage. As they were putting the gun back in its case, it went off.

“Fortunately, the guy who was handling the gun at the time had it pointed away from him and at the floor,” Wilkinson said.

No one was injured, and Wilkinson described the damage to the airport facility as “a chip in the floor.”

“Little airport, big noise — a lot of people were shook up,” Wilkinson said.

The manager of Era Aviation’s Kodiak operations, Murphy Forner, declined to comment because the investigation is ongoing.

The name of the gun-owner has not been released since no charges have been filed in the case. It is not yet clear who may be charged and what charges may apply.

“The question remains, How did a loaded gun get on the plane? Even in the cargo hold,” Wilkinson said.

The investigation will proceed with participation from both Alaska Airlines and Era Aviation. In addition to the troopers, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the federal Transportation Security Administration are also on the case.

According to the TSA’s Web site, guns checked into the cargo area of an airplane must be unloaded and kept in a locked, hard shell case.

Mirror writer Andrew Wellner can be reached via e-mail at awellner@kodiakdailymirror.com.