Fun & Games at Southwest... (Merged with other TSA failures)

[Ranger One]

Forwarded to me by email... surprised we haven't heard more:

U.S. Air Agency Directs Search of Aircraft For Banned Items

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The Transportation Security
Administration is asking all U.S. airlines to search aircraft for
``prohibited items'' after such items were found on some Southwest
Airlines Co. flights.
Southwest said in a statement that it found several items in
a plastic bag in an aircraft lavatory in New Orleans last night
during maintenance of the plane and made a similar discovery in
Houston last night on another aircraft. The bags included a note
that indicated the items were ``intended to challenge'' the U.S.
security procedures, Southwest said.
Southwest said inspections of its fleet of 385 planes found
no additional items. UAL Corp.'s United Airlines is complying
today with the TSA directive after being notified earlier today of
the request, said United spokesman Jeff Green.
``We've already begun the process of complying with the
federally mandated directive to inspect our entire fleet of
aircraft,'' Green said.
Items found on the flight from Orlando to New Orleans
included a ``mock explosive device'' and several box cutters, said
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman William Shumann. The
passengers on the Southwest flight were screened and the flight
was allowed to proceed, he said.

R 1

[Jerricho]

Forgive me for being dim, but these items were found during Mx, with no passenger interaction, correct?

Who would have had access to the aircraft to put them there?

[Ranger One]

Anyone with an airside pass, or any pax with the wit to conceal them from TSA seems to be the 'shortlist'! :rolleyes:

What's the verdict on the perpetrator(s)? Idiots or heros?

Or the little boy who shouted that the emperor had no clothes...?

An anonymous act like this is about the only way to question security in the USA these days, if you don't want to end up on someones little list, that is...

R1

[U/S President]

Now on CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/10/17/suspicious.baggage/index.html).

Apparently, some plastic explosive might also have been found.

[TR4A]

U/S President jump to this conclusion:
Apparently, some plastic explosive might also have been found

"the bags contained a clay substance that resembled plastic explosive and what appeared to be bleach.

The liquid was contained in suntan lotion bottles; the clay was inside Play-Doh containers, sources said."

[LatviaCalling]

I certainly don't want to use the word "inside job," but it certainly sounds like someone with access to those two Southwest aircraft wanted to make a point. Also to be taken into account is that there were no passengers aboard and planes and that the box cutters, the bleach and the "Play-Dough" were found by the cleaning crew.

The so-called sad part is that every U.S. aircraft is now being searched for possible weapons and explosives. Safety should be the No. 1 concern, but not being a security expert, even I think that there is something fishy to this apparent find.

What's there to prevent me from putting cookie dough in a Zip-Lock bag -- the mass won't tweak the security walk through -- and then just leave it in the toilet with a paste-on sign saying C5. This kind of action can stall a nation.

[LGS6753]

Excuse my ignorance, but despite 9/11, I still don't know what a 'box cutter' is. Can anyone explain in the Queen's English please?

[Golf Charlie Charlie]

Something close to what we call a Stanley knife, I think, though maybe a bit smaller.

[LatviaCalling]

LGS

Box cutters can be two different kinds of knives.

No. 1) The carpenters box cutter is a kind of a "Stanley" knife which you screw open and put in a one sided razor blade, secure it and then screw it shut.

No. 2) and this is what I think is the most damaging is the cheap plastic sheathed knife for opening envelopes, cardboard boxes and other things like strings and plastic cords on packages. The knife looks like a plastic ball point pen, except it is flatter to accomodate the blade. The blade is not solid but searated so that you can break off the tip when it gets dull and then the next knife edge will take over. When you push the blade out to maximum it could be 6" long or more.

Did I give you a proper explanation, or are you still puzzled.

[7p3i7lot]

I sure hope your not a "bad" guy?! If so I might be breaching security by telling you that a "BOX CUTTER" is also called a utility knife. It opens boxes! Usually has a retractable blade so stock boys/men/girls can put it in thier pocket when not needed.

Here is a link with pix.

http://www.garveyproducts.com/cutters.htm

[U/S President]

LGS6753: As far as I know a ‘box-cutter’ is what we Brits would call a Stanley knife: one of the ones where the blade can be pushed out a good few inches.

TR4A: The reports say “a substance resembling plastic explosive has been found”. I posted “apparently some plastic explosive might also have been found”. I don’t think that constitutes jumping to conclusions or scare mongering.

[LGS6753]

GCC and Latvia,

Thanks for the explanation. Having accidentally mis-handled a Stanley knife myself, I can understand their destructive potential.

[RatherBeFlying]

Lèse-Sécurité in the Land of the Frightened can get you a long time in places that make the cages in Guantanamo look like a holiday camp.

Better hope there's no fingerprints on the package that match up to your security check, buddy.

[Saint-Ex]

I find it hard to believe the US is so far behind us in the UK. The airllne I flew for thorougly searched the aircraft before passengers boarded and again after they disembarked. When will they ever learn?

[Tan]

Hmm mere speculation on my part but most likely an insider placed these articles on board the aircraft to highlight how ridiculous the current security system actually is.

[newarksmells]

People like you defy description or conversation...

Please wait until you get all the facts!!

[Rolling-Thunderbird]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=542&u=/ap/20031017/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/planes_searched&printer=1

[Saint-Ex]

Newarksmells. I am giving you the facts of our operations. If security is so good in the US, how come the articles got on board in the first place? Over here ALL the crew did the search and had to sign a document to prove it. If you take it that seriously in the States thjat`s great but I have never seen it.

[Rananim]

Saint Ex,
No,it happens everywhere.I believe you had a similar case in the Uk recently.A reporter got an airside ID with fake references at no less a place than LHR.
I dont condone the practice but the system should be tested.We have too much to lose not to do so.

[Tan]

TCS

Apparently the TSA's plan is to kill the messenger instead of fixing the problem. Perhaps their own arrogance in maintaining they are the only one's that know how to do it right prevented the TSA from taking the e-mail's seriously. They are the only one's that believe that their system is working against all evidence that it is not.

Wake-up TSA, confiscating nail clippers and the like is merely window dressing and everyone's knows it except the TSA.

I suspect the TSA management are trying to justify their waste of valuable resources..

Meanwhile the aviation indusrty goes down the drain.

[stator vane]

before speaking too harshly about the US security, let us review how many events of inside theft of large amounts of money have happened at LHR or LGW in the not so distant past. i think i remember reading that someone got onto an aircraft at STN that should not have been able to.

compare the number of actual aircraft movements and it would be interesting to see the relative percentage of different countries' breakdowns in security.

it must be a difficult tedious job and must be very easy to fall lax in such repetitive duties.

must say that BRU had some of the worst security i have ever seen.

both hands up that the tightest security i have personnally experienced was Tel Aviv, closely followed by STN.

[Tripower455]

Apparently the TSA's plan is to kill the messenger instead of fixing the problem. Perhaps their own arrogance in maintaining they are the only one's that know how to do it right prevented the TSA from taking the e-mail's seriously. They are the only one's that believe that their system is working against all evidence that it is not.

100% correct!

This one hits a bit close to home, as I was PIC on one of the flights where the stuff was subsequently found in the lav :eek: ...........

Instead of using this oppotunity to increase security, I'm afraid that they will martyr the kid, which, in the end, will deter other non-terrorists from "testing the system". Unfortunately, terrorists will still be able to use the same or similar methods to introduce weapons to airplanes.

The Greatest Security Show on Earth continues..........

[Tan]

Box Cutters on Planes 5 Weeks, FBI Says
47 minutes ago Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!

By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A college student sent an e-mail to federal authorities saying he had placed box cutters and other illegal items aboard two specific Southwest Airlines flights, but it still took authorities nearly five weeks to locate them on the planes.

An FBI (news - web sites) affidavit obtained Monday by The Associated Press said Nathaniel Heatwole, 20, told agents he went through normal security procedures at airports in Baltimore and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and was able to carry the forbidden items onto the planes in small plastic bags. Once aboard, he hid the bags in a compartment in the rear lavatories of two planes.

Heatwole first breached security at Raleigh-Durham airport on Sept. 12 — the day after the two-year anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. He did it again Sept. 15 at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, the affidavit said.

The bags contained box cutters, modeling clay simulated to look like plastic explosives, matches and bleach hidden in sunscreen bottles. Inside were notes with details about when and where the items were carried aboard. They were signed "3891925," which is the reverse of Heatwole's birthday: 5/29/1983.

On Sept. 15, the Transportation Security Administration received an e-mail from Heatwole stating he had "information regarding six security breaches" at the Raleigh-Durham and Baltimore-Washington airports between Feb. 7 and Sept. 14, the FBI affidavit said.

"The writer stated that he smuggled several items on his person and some in his carryon bag," the affidavit said.

The e-mail provided precise details of where the plastic bags were hidden — right down to the exact dates and flight numbers — and even provided Heatwole's name and telephone number. It's unclear whether Heatwole actually hid items on four other planes.

"The e-mail author also stated that he was aware his actions were against the law and that he was aware of the potential consequences for his actions, and that his actions were an 'act of civil disobedience with the aim of improving public safety for the air-traveling public,'" the affidavit said.

The e-mail was signed, "Sincerely, Nat Heatwole."

The affidavit does not say what was done about the e-mail after it was received in September. The bags containing box cutters and other items were not discovered until last Thursday night, after a lavatory on one of the planes had maintenance problems and workers found them.

The TSA did not send the e-mail to the FBI until last Friday. FBI agents quickly tracked down Heatwole and interviewed him.

The TSA did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment on the affidavit.

Heatwole, a junior at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., who is from Damascus, Md., was scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in Baltimore on Monday afternoon.

Federal authorities planned to charge him with bringing a dangerous weapon aboard an aircraft, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Heatwole's actions exposed holes in an aviation security system that has been greatly enhanced since Sept. 11, 2001, when 19 hijackers used box cutters to take over four jets. Box cutters and bleach are now are among the items that cannot be carried onto planes.

The TSA was created after the attacks, with the goal of replacing privately employed airport security workers with better-trained and higher-paid government employees.

Discovery of the items last week aboard Southwest planes that landed in New Orleans and Houston triggered stepped-up inspections of the entire U.S. commercial air fleet — roughly 7,000 planes. But after consulting with the FBI, the TSA rescinded the inspection order and no other suspicious bags were found.

The FBI affidavit said that in interviews with FBI agents Heatwole acknowledged writing the e-mail to the TSA to alert authorities to the presence of the bags. He signed printed copies of the e-mail in the presence of FBI agents as well as the notes found in the bags, verifying that he was the author of all three, the affidavit said.

Guilford is a Quaker college with a history of pacifism and civil disobedience that dates to the Civil War. Heatwole is not a Quaker, but shares many of the tenets of their religion, including a belief in pacifism, according to a February 2002 interview with The Guilfordian, the campus newspaper.

[Airbubba]

Yep, CNN "aviation expert" "Scary Mary" Schiavo tried a similar "test" of airport security at KCMH in 1999.

She tried to put a bag on a plane with a bomb-like x-ray profile, including modeling clay to simulate plastic explosives.

It didn't work. A terminal was evacuated and a runway closed for four hours while the authorities tried to sort out this costly hoax.

She claimed she was acting a journalist and protected under First Amendment freedoms so she copped a walk.

I wonder if CNN will mention this earlier incident of "journalism" when discussing the Heatwole case?

http://www.cnn.com/US/9903/15/suspicious.bag.01/

[Tan]

Quote:

Deputy TSA Administrator Stephen McHale said Monday's court action "makes clear that renegade acts to probe airport security for whatever reason will not be tolerated, pure and simple."

"Amateur testing of our systems do not show us in any way our flaws," McHale said. "We know where the vulnerabilities are and we are testing them ... This does not help."

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, whose department includes TSA, said officials "will go back and look at our protocol" for handling such e-mails. He said the agency gets a high volume of e-mails about possible threats and that officials decided that Heatwole "wasn't an imminent threat."

Okay if what they say is true why did the same TSA officials find it necessary to issue a industry wide search of all aircraft? Perhaps it's time that both these TSA and Homeland Security officials submit their resignations...Hey President Bush you listening?


http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031020/ap_on_re_us/planes_searched_62

[PaperTiger]

the agency gets a high volume of e-mailsAnd doesn't read any of them. If you have tried emailing the TSA, you will be familiar with the 'canned' form response telling you to call the toll-free number.

These people are simply lying. No-one looked at those emails until after the cleaners found the packages.

[Tripower455]

"Amateur testing of our systems do not show us in any way our flaws," McHale said.

Obviously, it does! It shows that ANYONE can repeat what that kid did!

tsA (little "t", little "s" BIG A!), since they have nothing to do with transportation, little to do with security, and LOTS to do with ADMINISTRATION!

[B Sousa]

An Opinion.
If the kid had placed a boxcutter with no blade or maybe even a note saying this simulates a boxcutter, I would give him a break. But since the idiot decided to defy the law and then try an "In your face" He better prepare to marry Bubba in jail..... He broke the law for whatever intention.......not good.......

[Ignition Override]

A .32 caliber pistol round was found in our right side overhead bin, just a few months ago. Our gate agent said that after checking passenger lists, no govt. employees had been on board since the previous day-and a FA found it late in the afternoon.:suspect:

[GrandPrix]

Give the kid a Congressional medal of honor for exposing the sham that TSA provided "Suckurity" is.
We are being "protected" by girlie high school drop outs who continue to color their back packs with nail polish and write the names of their favorite bands on them. I witnessed this on October 15th, on the employee bus.
Our "trusted" friends on the ramp continue to skate through without so much as a glance.
Mr Rogers asks; Can you say REMOTELY DETONATED EXPLOSIVE DEVICE? (BANG) Good, I knew you could.
Hey James Loy! Are you listening to any of this?
Our managers don't give a sh*t, why should anyone else care about our safety?
Mr Rogers asks; Can you say SHOULDER LAUNCHED ANTI-AIRCRAFT MISSILE? (BANG) Good, I knew you could.
But wait. We have bomb proof cockpit doors. Yes, but they are mounted to paper mache walls that can pe punctured with a toothpick.
One more major terrorist event using aircraft will end the way we live and fly forever. Airlines in the US will go the way of the dinosaur and travel will be provided by the same people who gave us "Suckurity" pre and post 9-11.
Sleep well with that warm and fuzzy feeling.

[Flap 5]

It is so often the case with these things that the ordinary passenger gets severely inconvenienced by excessive security. The genuine, well informed terrorist will avoid getting caught at this point and will get what he needs by different means, that is via maintenence hangars at smaller airports, etc. Damn! Don't tell me I have just told them how to do it! Oh grow up!

[av8boy]

An Opinion.
If the kid had placed a box cutter with no blade or maybe even a note saying this simulates a box cutter, I would give him a break. But since the idiot decided to defy the law and then try an "In your face" He better prepare to marry Bubba in jail..... He broke the law for whatever intention.......not good.......

Same sort of thing I said to the missus when this came to light. However, there is a downside. A note simulating box cutters would allow the TSA to claim that no actual cutting instrument got through. You know, "yes, 'simulated box cutters' were found on the aircraft, but as you know, it is perfectly legal for passengers to carry as many simulated box cutters as they like, so long as the blades are not carried. In this case, our alert staff took note of the fact that no blades were associated with the harmless notes and allowed the young man to pass..." Same deal with the bleach. Bleach is pretty clearly on the list of prohibited items. But if you let a legal liquid stand-in for the bleach there is no breach. You fail to make your point.

What's more, there is no middle ground. If something looks like a weapon, it is a weapon ("Weapons are objects that may be used to attack another. TSA considers an item to be a weapon under 49 CFR 1540.111 if it is created for use as a weapon or is so similar to an item created as a weapon that it appears to be, or is easily used as, a weapon. ") So, an empty box cutter handle (no blade) or a bottle that had water in it but was labeled “BLEACH” could still get him arrested.

All said and done, I admire the idea but think the execution sucks. OK, so he says it was "civil disobedience" intended to make a point about lax security. Bottom line is that he introduced prohibited items into the aircraft and then relinquished control over those items. Unacceptable.

It seems to me that he fully expected to be arrested at one point or another. If that's the case, why leave the bloody things on the aircraft? Here's a thought: he gets them through security and then calls the local news to invite them down for the ceremony surrounding his turning himself in. Same point made, no? Although it lacks the multiple-aircraft panache, it does what he wants it to do, I'd think...

Thoughts?

Dave

[747FOCAL]

That kid is only going to get 6 months home detention. :uhoh:

[av8boy]

He’s already been released without bail pending his November 10 hearing.

This is the part that irks me:
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, whose department includes TSA, said officials "will go back and look at our protocol" for handling such e-mails. He said the agency gets a high volume of e-mails about possible threats and officials decided that Heatwole "wasn't an imminent threat."
Of course not. “Imminent” has to do with something that hasn’t yet happened. This guy sent TSA email saying that he’d already put the stuff on the aircraft. Therefore he was no longer “an imminent threat.” .:suspect:

He put banned items on an airplane then told TSA about it. They ignored him because he wasn’t a threat. I hope I’m missing something here

Dave

[PaperTiger]

Dave, it's my opinion that Heatwole's emails were ignored totally, not because they contained 'no overt threat', but because nobody at the TSA answers or even looks at them as they arrive. Just an auto-generated reply.

They may have some kind of Echelon-like thingy which parses them after the fact looking for specific words/phrases, but I doubt that too since it surely should have picked Heatwole's out.

I could be wrong, maybe a human did read it and decided it was a prank. In which case there certainly does need to be some er.. protocol adjustment. And I hope Congress asks some piercing questions, although we the people are not likely to see the answers.

[BJBATMAN]

If you put a unemployed Burger king employee in a new shirt and pay them more money does not make anyone safe. I got my Screw driver for my glasses confiscated, it was about 2 inches long. Then while I was on the plane the lady in front of me was knitting with two big knitting needles. Just last week I put my jacket through the x-ray and forgot that my leathermen was in the pocket. It made it right through and I didn't notice till I was on the plane. If I told someone on the plane would I have gotten arrested? While I don't think this young man should get off without punishment, I find the whole thing rather interesting. Maybe this will tone down the normal TSA attitude we all get everytime we go through security.

[Airbubba]

The latest "security test" news story:

Man Tried To Board Plane To Fla. With Blade In Shoe

A man was detained Tuesday after being allowed to take a flight despite having tried to board a plane with a knife in his carry-on luggage and a box cutter or razor in his shoe, authorities said.

The man, who was not immediately identified, was detained Tuesday morning in Pittsburgh while on his way from Erie to Fort Myers, Fla., said FBI spokesman Bill Crowley. It was unclear whether he would be charged with any crime, Crowley said.

Federal screeners in Erie found a diving knife in the man's carry-on bag and a metal object in his shoe, said David Bagnoni, police chief at Erie International Airport.

Federal screeners contacted airport police, who searched the man and confiscated the knife and a cutting tool hidden under a cushion in his shoe, Bagnoni said.

The man told an airport police officer the knife was in his bag because he was going on a diving trip. He said the tool in his shoe was likely planted by friends, Bagnoni said.

But Bagnoni said he believed the man was likely trying to test security, much like a 20-year-old Maryland college student who recently acknowledged smuggling box cutters and other banned items onto planes.

Bagnoni said airport police had little choice but to let the man continue on his flight because he didn't break any local or state laws and federal authorities had not requested that he be held.

Bagnoni characterized the incident as a procedural error that highlighted the evolving roles of law enforcement agencies since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"The problem lies in the gray area. It has been give and take since Sept. 11. Once we find a problem, we correct it," Bagnoni said.

In the future, Bagnoni said, people caught with items not allowed on flights would be held until federal authorities decide what to do with them.


http://www.local6.com/travelgetaways/2571622/detail.html

[av8boy]

Dave, it's my opinion that Heatwole's emails were ignored totally, not because they contained 'no overt threat', but because nobody at the TSA answers or even looks at them as they arrive. Just an auto-generated reply.
...although they can then say that he'd been "under investigation" since the emails showed up. Yeah, I see your point. I just wish it wasn't so. I was having a go at the TSA based upon their explanation. You're doing that awful "reality" thing. Stop it.

Dave:suspect:

[747FOCAL]

I have now heard that congress is after TSA for answers regarding this kid and how he managed to pull this off. They are talking giving him immunity if he tells all. Congress must be dumb if they think security is any better in the USA since 9/11. The only thing that has improved is the fact that the passengers will not sit idle during a hyjacking. Try to hyjack a plane here, or anywhere for that matter, and you will most likely be beat real bad or dead. I would prefer the latter. :}

[747FOCAL]

Women Spot Knife On Flight To Philly

Two local woman say they got quite a surprise on a recent flight when a woman pulled out a knife while their airliner was in mid-flight.

Knife Brought On Plane To Philly

The women say they weren't threatened in any way during their trip from Seattle to Philadelphia International Airport, but they took a photo of the kitchen knife and later contacted NBC 10.

US Airways Flight 106 was on its way from Seattle to Philadelphia when the woman sitting next to Bethanne Walters and Jill Rupp took out an apple.

"I saw her cutting the apple and it was just innocent," said Walters. "She just wanted to have an apple and then Jill said something."

"I said, 'How did you get that knife on the plane?' And she said, 'Oh! I don't really know,'" Rupp recounted. "And I said, 'May I take a picture' and she said sure and she immediately put it away."

But that was not before Jill's camera captured what looked to be a knife with a 5- or 6-inch blade lying on the foldout tray table.

Somehow that metal blade made it past Transportation Security Administration screeners at Seattle's airport and onto flight 106.

NBC10 called the US Airways to see what explanation there is for a knife that size not being detected.

"That is disturbing that a knife of that sort did get through," said an airline official. "It's an issue that needs to be addressed and will be addressed with the TSA."

The women emailed the airline, but not so much to get the lady with the knife in trouble.:rolleyes:

[mono]

The local security staff were probably too busy checking the captains shoes and removing 2 inch long toy guns from action man figures.

:hmm: :suspect:

[Sky Goose]

Why dont the just give everyone knives at check in, that way the "evil doers", will know the PAX are armed and not try any nasy stunts.

With things the way thay are if a "Terrorist" happens to get a sharp object on board, they know they wont even have some rouge nail clipper to contend with.

It really is getting rather silly !!

I even heard they took the pilots nail clippers away on one occasion !!! Whats he going to do, Hijack himself !!! Oh Dear Me !

Common sense seems to have left aviation security.


Just my opinion.

[737TG]

Getting naked in the air

Naked passengers and crew would make terrorist fears a thing of the past. Who would ever take a nude hijacker seriously? There's no place to conceal a concealed weapon anyway. And airport security lines would evaporate, as passengers skipped through metal detectors in their birthday suits.



www.usatoday.com (http://www.usatoday.com):::E

[akerosid]

Just try and take a photo of a plane in the US and the security thugs will be all over you. The conversation never results in any deeper reason for the dislike of cameras than "we're security" or "it's against regulations". The last thing I want to see is someone being harassed about a simple photo, while Mohamed Bin Psycho and his cohorts sneak on board.

The problem is that the TSA is absolute; there's no oversight authority. Unfortunately, it may take another tragedy to fix this.

At the end of the day, security is a bit like religion: a good idea in principle, but oh, the things done in its name . . .

[Rollingthunder]

It's somewhat amazing that security procedures vary so considerably from airport to airport. Sometimes cameras out of carry on to be x-rayed separately, sometimes checked for explosive residue with the sniffer, sometimes straight through.

Last week at LHR T3, I went through my usual pre-security routine - all metal into the carry-on, coins, cigs, lighter - leaving me wearing a watch, glasses, belt and with a pen in my breast pocket. 9 times out of ten I sail through the metal detector. Not this time. Beep. Full frisk, had to show soles of shoes, had to take everything out of my pockets - wallet, notes, passport, pen. That went through x-ray. Machine sensitivity set a tad too high?

I'm always tempted to ask when the machine was last calibrated? Do you have a certificate of calibration? Was the test machinery calibrated within time limits? Do you have a copy of the calibration certificate? Is the calibration company certified to carry-out this work? Do you have a copy of the company's certification.
Well, not really tempted.

[Tan]

How very true..

The biggest problem I have with both Congress and the TSA is that they can't accept this simple reality. They obviously need to revisit the KISS way of doing things before they destroy aviation as a means of affordable transportation.

[DOME]

Speaking of sensitivities - while working at an Asian airport recently, I had occasion to pass through the same security point up to 10 times in a shift. After discarding my mobile, coins, lighter, even ID holder, straight through - no beeps, no nothing. As long as it was before 2030. Over the months I noticed that after this time - and it was just about the busiest part of the day for pax departures - I was setting off the sensors and having to be wanded - as were large numbers of pax. Its not just the TSA it seems.

[PaperTiger]

TSA head moving on
http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/news/7086006.htm

New boss, same as the old boss ?

[GrandPrix]

WARNING WARNING WARNING

Loy is promoted.

The Peter Principle in full effect.

We are doomed.

[OldAg84]

Oddly enough, I still enjoy flying- though not as much as I used to. Right now, I'm doing about 1 plane ride a week. I'm sorry to say that if another terrorist attacks occurs and I think security failed to do its' job- I'll stop flying and look for another line of work or least another mode of transport.

The same losers that were in Wackenhut or Argenbright uniforms are doing the security for better pay and in nicer shirts. They are friendly enough, but I don't need happy security- I just want it to be effective.

So far as Nat Heatwole goes, he may have overextended himself in his attempt, but he sure did show the "emporer has no clothes".

Finally, the fact that nobody wants to mention profiling is just unbelievable. Does anybody have statistics on which group(s) has/have hijacked the most aircraft in the last 40 years?