I was almost an "airline terrorist"

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You know, part of the problem we all face is that none (or maybe very few) of us actually know all the federal, local, state, and in this case, the laws that pertain to airports and the FAA. We have all gotten away with getting onto a plane with something we should not have been able to carry on given the laws. We then get upset when we do get pinched because the item in concern never was before!

I usually drop my wallet in the little bucket and it is handed back to me. At DFW airport, they put the bucket through the scanner and took me aside. I have one of those little Toologic credit card gizmo things with the compass, tooth pick, ruler, mag. glass, and a knife in it. They took me aside, asked if the could open the wallet. By this time I could see the screen that showed the blade. The went through the wallet and could not find the blade. They asked me to explain the image and I showed them the Toologic gadget.

The truly demeaning part of the ordeal was when I slipped the blade so that it could be seen, the guard took it from me, pulled it completely out, showed it to the other guards, and then they started laughting!!!! The guard handed back my wallet, contents including the Toologic card (with knife) and told me to have a safe flight.

Okay, so the blade isn't anything big, actually smaller than the cutting surface of some onboard food knives, but they didn't have to laugh at me!!
 
I sit here in the English Republic looking at a spent PMC 9x19mm casing that was lodged in a shirt pocket from a shooting trip to the free continent just over one year ago.

I didn't know it was there, and had just stuffed it into my suitcase along with everything else that was in need of serious laundry attention. On arriving in the UK I noticed that my suitcase latches were popped open but the straps were still hitched up. There could be no doubt that the suitcase had been opened, the errant round examined and then replaced in my luggage, the pond life that had done this obviously not bothering to do the suitcase up again properly. This made me realise 2 things :

1. I was very, very lucky.

2. The new generation of x-ray machines that can highlight explosives and brass casings in red on the operators screens are very good indeed.

3. I now had the BEST momento of my shooting experiences in the US.

I have been told by one of my friends that my name will now be logged on the "bad risk" computer listing, so it's official, the anal retentives have now branded me a terrorist.

We moved house recently and the only thing I took with me in the car was that little shell case, the rest went in the van.

They show Airport documentaries frequently on British TV and one of the favourite re-runs is some poor old guy from Texas who is being hauled off to the police station for having a live round on him. All he could keep saying was, "It just isn't such a big deal in the States", sorry old timer, seems maybe it is.

Mike H

[This message has been edited by Mike H (edited October 16, 2000).]
 
Served him right for vacationing in thrid-world countries like England. Orwell, Kipling and Sabatini are likely rolling in their graves.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Oleg Volk:
Served him right for vacationing in thrid-world countries like England. Orwell, Kipling and Sabatini are likely rolling in their graves.[/quote]

And, very shortly, America.

Nobody should be surprised by the moronic and ever-shifting rules about what is or is not acceptable. The whole point of these airport checkpoints isn't safety--it's control, and teaching Americans to bend over and spread their cheeks to anyone with a badge (or just an authoritarian attitude).

Time and again stories are published about how badly such "security" measures fail even the simplest tests. But they don't change them, and they don't eliminate them as a waste of time--because they aren't. Not when the real goal is making it impossible to travel the nation in a timely fashion without kissing the asses of the authorities. Once upon a time, all it took to get the audience to boo at the movie screen was to show an officious goon in a uniform demanding papers from a traveler, or searching his bags--now such behavior is commonplace here. Why, many people would be _horrified_ by the suggestion that such police-state activity should be eliminated.
 
I will have to travel at the end of the year. I booked a flight but seriously thinking about driving.

Any suggestions, short of using Henry Bowman's techniques, as to what can be done to reverse the trend?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by WLM:
I don't remember where it was posted, but the weirdest one I have ever heard was regarding the guy who tried to get on the plane with the fake cartridge with Charlton Heston's autograph that the NRA was giving as a little gift for signing up for another year. It was obviously not a real cartridge, it even had a hole in it for a key chain! Still, the fake cartridge with Heston's signature and a hole was confiscated. I think it was in New Jersey, but I'm not sure.

Will

[/quote]

I never posted it, but that exact thing happened to me. I flew home for Christmas from Salt Lake City to Dulles airport without any problems. After the holidays, I was flying out of Reagan National Airport and the drones at the security gate wouldn't let me board because of my NRA Silver Bullet Brigade keychain. Yep. It never even was a real bullet and even if it had been, it had holes in the back where the rim would be for my keyring. I had to do the same thing as ds1973 and walk back to the luggage counter and check it in in its own 2' X 2' X 2' box. The really ironic thing is that I had my Leatherman (which is much more dangerous than the keychain ever could be) in my backpack and they let that through with no problem. I guess if I had wanted to hijack the plane, I could have tried to make the captain choke by forcing him to swallow the "bullet" or something... Right...? Guys...? :rolleyes:
 
Carry a couple of small, innocious folding knives. I've never been badly hassled over my Gerber Bolt-Action. My Leatherman tool sails through without a hitch.

You can often browbeat the sec-goons into letting you through. Remember, the FAA clearly states that any folder under 4" is cool. BUT, don't try this with a knife you're not willing to lose.

As to improvised weapons. Nobody ever complained abot the 3-D Mag-Lite in my carry-on bag. You could go the tool-kit route (a handful of screwdrivers, a 24-ounce shingle hatchet, a deadblow hammer, etc...) You could get a piece of 18" by 1" polycarbonate rod, mark it with some random letters and numbers, and pass it off as a "material sample." Lots of possibilities for the creative mind.

As to reversing the trend, well, on that end we're pretty much screwed. Unless, by some miracle, the FAA makes some major policy changes (or gets defunded.)

Later,
Chris

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"TV what do I see, tell me who to believe, what's the use of autonomy when a button does it all??" - Incubus, Idiot Box
 
I always have my small size Leatherman Tool in my carry-on bag. Even on international flights, nobody has ever said anything. It's gone to Switzerland with me five or six times. I always land in Zurich. Geneva is lots more uptight. I left from in Geneva once. They searched my carry-on bag four times before my flight. The airport security was even going around looking under the chairs in the waiting area. Gave me the creeps.

Will

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Mendacity is the system we live in.
 
Sorta off this topic -- but a couple of days after the bombing at the Olympic Park in Atlanta.. my girlfriend were trying to get into this particular venue. Well, the security guard saw my cellular phone and looked at it strangely. He gave me a dirty look and told me to "make it work." I said sure.. "Give me the number to your boss and I'll be happy to call him and tell him this prick won't let me into the damn venue." He handed my phone back to me and let me in. :D

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After declaring my Glock I went throught the metal detector with an empty Glock magazine.They searched my pockets and found the empty magazine. Well you would have thought it was a stick of dynamite the way the security guards carried on. They told me not to move and got on their radios to call for the police. Two officers came quickly, determined the mag was empty, asked why I had it and if I had a gun. I told them I declared it and they told the security guards to let me through. The officers did want my name and address which I gave them.
 
5 or 6 years back, I was out in Boston with vactioning with my family and visiting my cousins. We decided to have a nerf gun fight so we all went to Toy R Us and got nerf guns. On the flight back, I tucked mine into backpack and walked through security no problem. my sisters ended up on top in a shopping bag my mom was carrying, they ran the shopping bag through the xray machine 3 times and then told my mom that they had to check the nerf guns because they you aren't allowed to take things that shoot projectiles onto airplanes.
and then the security guy say how he was being nice cuz normally they are supposed to call the cops in this situation. I was 16 or so, at the time and almost stated laughing, but didn't want the wrath of my mom who tends to me more serious then I.
Then are are all the toys that I bring on airplanes. I travel with 2 carryons. 1 is clothes and some toys and the other is purely toys. One thing in the purely toys back pack is 1 spool of red wire and 1 spool of black wire. while on vaction or traveling I tend to need to improvise things. I'm surprised I've never been stopped for that. Its always stupid stuff, my mini mag, a random tool.
I always empty out my pockets and put everything in my bag before I go through the metal detectors. its a big enough hassle going through steel toe boots, I don't need more trouble with does you cell phone work? make it ring, turn on your palm pilot, etc. next time I think I'm gonna put my boots in the xray machine


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It ain't mah fault. did I do dat?
http://yellowman.virtualave.net/
 
Go watch Penn and Teller Get Killed. There's a hysterical scene at an airport metal detector where Teller tortures Penn via a small steel ball: in pockets, rolled through while Penn walks through, etc. Sure it's a movie, but these sleight-of-hand artists could surely pull it off in real life.
 
I was in the airport too (BUF). Although I like what they are doing for the city, this only indicates the complete lack of intellegence at the airport. Seriously, these are the poeple that failed out of the DMV
 
A few years back I was stopped at the metal detector because of my carry-on. Inside I had my set of darts. They also freaked when they saw the outline of my cologne bottle. Aramis comes in a rounded-off cylinder with a small metal cap... it looked like a grenade to them. I had to go back and check my carry-on because of the darts. Yeah, all airline terrorists use darts these days! :rolleyes:

Recently, I was 'caught' with my small pocket knife. (I carry a pocket knife everywhere I go. I have since I was a Boy Scout. I carried since Jr. High school.) Anyway, I put my small 2-blade Victornox 'Swiss Army Knife' in the basket, put the basket on the belt and walked through. The attendant looked at the x-ray, looked at the knife, and made some comment about "legal length." (The big blade is maybe 2-1/4 inch) I said something back about ..."needing it to cut through seat belts if the plane goes down." Probably not the smartest choice of words to use, but that's exactly why I carry the damned thing on a plane for! The guard handed my knife back and I was on my way.
 
Well, count me among the ranks of "almost airline terrorists." Today I flew home from Montreal to California. Passed through U.S. Customs in Dorval Airport in Montreal with no problems. Cleared U.S. Immigration with a driver's license (gee, I didn't realize I should have brought my passport) and then paid my airport tax (another line). Then I came across the formidable airport security force.

They x-rayed my newspaper wrapped rifle stock and had a fit. "It's just a piece of wood," I told them.

"Yes, but we have to call the police."

"Why?"

"Because it can be combined with the other parts to make a gun."

The police, a young man and a young woman, came by, asked to see it and I carefully opened one end and slid the stock for all to see. The stock was taken from a Swedish Mauser 96 and what caught my eye was its striping. It would have made a great custom stock but such were the times. Anyway, the stock was given to me and since I couldn't fit it into my luggage, I took it as a carry-on. The police looked at it and glanced at me inquisitively. "I'm going to use it to customize a rifle when I get home," I offered.

The officer said, "OK, it's fine. You can take it aboard."

The fat female security guard supervisor protested in French and the officer responded in French. To silence her protests, the female cop asked for my identification and having recorded it, allowed me to proceed.

Thankfully the cops have more sense than security there. As a sidenote, I noticed that while both officers had uniform shirts (badge, patch, nametags, etc.), both also wore jeans - something I haven't seen since my police academy days when I visited Humboldt State University where its officers were allowed jeans as optional dress. BTW, they both carried stainless DAO Ruger revolvers.
 
Ayoob observes that airport security folk are trained to shut up when matters of flight safety arise. "Why, I carry it to cut through jammed seat belts if needed. And I carry this flashlight for if the lights go out." "Move along."
 
Coming back from South Korea, customs agents took me aside (30-something healthy white guy, travelling alone, black leather jacket, black pants, returning from Asia, two efficently stuffed carry-on bags, no checked luggage, hastily-issued passport..."step over here, sir").

During the comprehensive search (checked my shoes! smell served him right), one guard took and snapped open my Spyderco Cricket, looked at the other guard, and mumbled "that would be perfect!" in an impressed-guy-holding-a-neat-knife tone. You do the math. Was thankful to get the knife back.
 
I was also almost an airline terrorist. I had been using my backpack to haul ammo, water, etc. to the area on my place where I shoot. Then I went to Europe and I guess I failed to check it thoroughly enough. Fortunately there was only an expended .22 casing in it, and they didn't find that. I didn't find it myself until I was already in Europe.
 
A poular local "cake" in the UK is the Eccles cake. To describe said item, it is a hollow flat pastry case filled with currants and coated in sugar, and, here's the killer, it looks exactly like a hand grenade when viewed through an x-ray machine (ball bearings in a casing). I've heard of several "incidents" where a controlled detonation of suspect confectionary was narrowly averted, second isn't gun related but harks more of power gone mad. A friend of mine was on a flight to the US when he saw the mother of a young boy sobbing fearfully as she was carted away by 2 Customs officials, and her crime ?, her little boy was eating a Pepperami (just like a Slim Jim) whilst walking through customs, she was arrested and charged with the attempted importation of prohibited food products, anal doesn't even come close.

Mike H
 
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