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FedEx Pilot 'Detained' in Guangzhou for 'Non-metallic Pellet Ammunition'

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FedEx Pilot 'Detained' in Guangzhou for 'Non-metallic Pellet Ammunition'

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Old 19th Sep 2019, 20:01
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FedEx Pilot 'Detained' in Guangzhou for 'Non-metallic Pellet Ammunition'

Another 'bullets in the luggage' incident, this stuff is a big deal overseas. I had a colleague detained in SIN a few years ago in a similar incident.

Hohn is apparently the former wing commander at Altus AFB in Oklahoma.


(Reuters) - FedEx Corp on Thursday said that Chinese authorities in the southern city of Guangzhou detained and later released one of its pilots on bail.

The pilot was taken into custody “after an item was found in his luggage prior to a commercial flight. We are working with the appropriate authorities to gain a better understanding of the facts,” FedEx said in a statement.

The pilot, identified as former U.S. Air Force pilot Todd Hohn, was detained a week ago at the Guangzhou airport, a FedEx regional hub, according to a Wall Street Journal report, citing a lawyer for the pilot’s family. That report said that when Hohn was detained, his checked bag contained nonmetallic pellets used in low-power replica air guns.

FedEx, which gets about a third of its revenue from outside the United States, has been ensnared in tensions between the United States and China.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-f...-idUSKBN1W42AD
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Old 19th Sep 2019, 20:18
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Seems like guy as bright and capable as Col Hahn would have some inkling that this was not a good idea?
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Old 19th Sep 2019, 20:29
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He apparently commutes to CAN from HKG and was getting on Cathay Dragon after a trip with a checked bag. Anything that might look like bullets or pills on the X-ray machine will attract attention in baggage screening in my experience. I had a coworker with a couple of packs of microwave popcorn pulled aside since they looked suspicious on the screen.

And, as we've discussed before, the duffel bag that goes to the shooting range shouldn't be the one that you take flying but in many cases it is. What can go wrong with that?
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Old 19th Sep 2019, 21:11
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"[...] nonmetallic pellets used in low-power replica air guns."

So no powder, just plastic pellets?
That's just ridiculous.
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Old 19th Sep 2019, 23:17
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Originally Posted by wiedehopf
"[...] nonmetallic pellets used in low-power replica air guns."

So no powder, just plastic pellets?
That's just ridiculous.
Yes, that's just what I was thinking - this appears to refer to those approximately 5mm diameter, totally inert, plastic balls; not "ammunition" of any sort, by any definition. This just doesn't make any sense.
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Old 20th Sep 2019, 03:38
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Old 20th Sep 2019, 04:02
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What do you do with these 'toy replica air guns'? Do you play games shooting at each other? Do you give them to your kids?

Hopefully this guy is already off probation at FedEx, he appears to be a 75/76 FO based in CAN. If President Trump can get the UCLA varsity sunglasses shoplifting squad off the hook in China perhaps he can help this cargo pilot.
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Old 20th Sep 2019, 05:51
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At least Chinese security aren't pulling the infamous "tanim bala" bullet planting scam from the Philippines.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nino...anting_scandal
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Old 20th Sep 2019, 08:44
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Originally Posted by krismiler
At least Chinese security aren't pulling the infamous "tanim bala" bullet planting scam from the Philippines.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nino...anting_scandal
friend of mine got tripped up on that scam in Bangkok...spent a stretch in jail before the lid was blown off..crooked Thai police
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