RUTLAND, Vt. (AP) – A Mount Holly man has denied he tried to board a commercial airplane with a loaded pistol in his luggage.

Sheldon I. Hochman pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the federal charge. Hochman, 62, told authorities that he packed the 9mm pistol in his bag the night before he was to board the July 14 flight at the Rutland State Airport on the way to Alaska with his wife on their honeymoon.

Screeners at the airport discovered the gun inside Hochman’s carry-on bag, the affidavit said. Hochman also had a loaded spare magazine, an unloaded spare magazine, nine loose rounds of ammunition, and a magazine loading device.

Hochman told FBI agents he carried a firearm whenever he traveled by car for protection and in case he comes upon an injured animal in pain, the document said.

In June 2001 Hochman was charged with reckless endangerment for allegedly firing two shots into the air when a utility worker came onto his property following a storm.

Hochman claimed he didn’t know it was a utility employee and said he fired two warning shots into the air, court records said. The charge was later dismissed.