Tripower455 -
Yes, Workers were killed. More than very sad as they mostly had no choice. Yes, Pilots too, also more than sad, and they had no choice. LEOs had a choice is the point I make. They should be honored for that choice is my point.
Posers should be arrested, as an obvious threat. But, there was no posing going on. The Agent was, and is, a real Agent. Supposedly - repeat - supposedly it was the paperwork in question. More to this point at the end.
Sky Marshalls vs. Secret Service Agents, as a choice in the cabin. I'll take the Agent every time. They get a lot more target practice, but the main reason is that they are trained to "spot" suspicious "actors" every day of their lives. Much deeper training than a Sky Marshall.
"Take a bullit" - the point is who merits more respect. An airline Capt. or a LEO. I too was in the military. More on that later too.
Full FBI background check? I have to seriously doubt that yours is as "full" as a Secret Service Agent. Mine took ten (10) months and ran to eight typed pages of the DD-395. However, I did not know y'all were subject to BIs and I like that you are. Speaks highly of your profession.
Still would like to have an answer as to why the Capt. didn't say - "here fill out new paperwork and let's get going". I appreciate your paperwork problem w/FAA, although I am not sure that POTUS has the same appreciation, but still like an answer as to could they not have just done "new" paper and got on w/flight. I did NOT ask/suggest about "sliding" the paperwork. Never!
I totally agree with you that JUDGEMENT is the crux of the matter here.
SaturnV makes a great comment [quote]There is no more trusted position in American law enforcement.<hr></blockquote> so even your Sky Marshall doesn't get within five feet of POTUS with a gun.
The big point made here is the psych testing that one goes through. Simply put - who is more "reliable"? The Capt. or the Agent? Give me a break, this is a no brainer!
Lastly - I said I am not a wanna be. I have done a lot more than 10-15 years of flying. I have very close to 3 million miles with AA alone. Another 500k w/DL, TW, UA and WN. But you measure hours, so I will count my Looking Glass hours too. Over 114 flying hours per month for thirty-four (31) months with an extra hour on both ends for pre and post flight. A 100% OTTO record. We did TOs in wx when OMA was flat closed. BTDT! The maths say I have over 10k hrs. "on type" (including Catalinas).
Still want to know why the PIC could not have said - "here let's just do this paperwork over" since I agree with SaturnV that the Agents creds are at the very least as good as the Capt's.
It is all about judgement. And "my" Capt. made a bad call and that is very obvious now.
Latest off the TV - MSNBC says that AA now says that it was never a matter of paperwork, rather the Capt. could not establish the Agents credentials. Give me break - that is a non-starter. Does anyone out there really believe that the Secret Service doesn't have one of the best communication systems in the world? That the BWI LEOs couldn't contact their next door neighbor and independently confirm the Agents creds? Does anyone believe the Secret Service doesn't maintain a 7x24 command post in Wash-DC?
This is becoming worse in the eyes of the pax is the biggest point to make of this whole mess. The idiot at CDG gets on the plane and the Agent at BWI doesn't? This builds confidence in the great un-washed public that there is "real" security in flying? I think not, and this is what will hurt the flying industry the most. And that is the saddest thing other than the deaths on 9-11-01. Good Luck to ALL airline employees, I'll keep flying (AA you know) as long as my employer allows. I will Never Forget!
dAAvid -