I have no idea if this AE report is real but TSA 'tiger teams' have been on the ramp in recent months trying to gain access to the flight deck of parked aircraft. One of our captains out West had a guy hauled off by the county police. He had TSA ID but the captain said he had no business on the plane without written authorization. Don't know where it went after that, the TSA can and will put you on a no fly list if someone files a complaint about you. Here's a story in today's news about a pilot on the list:
Airline captain, lawyer, child on terror 'watch list' - CNN.com
Update:
Sadly, it looks like this one is for real...
TSA Snafu Damages Nine Planes at O'Hare Field
Pilots Furious with Misstep
By JOSEPH RHEE, BRIAN ROSS, and ERIC LONGABARDI
August 19, 2008—
Nine American Eagle airplanes were grounded Tuesday after a TSA inspector, conducting an overnight security check, used sensitive instrument probes to climb onto the parked aircraft at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, aviation sources tell ABCNews.com.
A TSA official confirmed the incident.
At least forty regional commuter flights were delayed throughout the day, according to American Airlines. "We think it's an unfortunate situation," American airlines spokesperson Mary Frances told ABCNews.com.
The TSA agent, as part of spot inspection of aircraft security, climbed onto the parked aircraft using control sensors mounted on the fuselage as handholds, according to a TSA official in Chicago, Elio Montenegro.
"Our inspector was following routine procedure for securing the aircraft that were on the tarmac," Montenegro told ABCNews.com.
The TSA agent was attempting to determine if someone could break into a parked aircraft, according to Montenegro.
Pilots were furious at the TSA misstep.
"The brilliant employees used an instrument located just below the cockpit window that is critical to the operation of the onboard computers," one pilot wrote on an American Eagle internet forum. "They decided this instrument, the TAT probe, would be adequate to use as a ladder," the pilot wrote.
Another pilot wrote the TSA agents, "are now doing things to our aircraft that may put our lives, and the lives of our passengers at risk."
The TSA has been conducting such overnight spot checks at airports around the country.
Another airline, Mesa Air Group, told its employees earlier this month that "48 percent of all TSA investigations involving Mesa Air Group involve a failure to maintain area/aircraft security."
Mesa said it was imposing a "zero-tolerance" policy for such violations, threatening employees with dismissal.
ABC News: TSA Snafu Damages Nine Planes at O'Hare Field