"Homeland Security" in Iowa

I had a similar experience at LAX after visiting my father. My sister sent a
gift wrapped "credit card" sized Swiss army set home with me to give to my
brother. It had a small blade along with other small implements. I had no
idea what was wrapped in the gift box, but the X ray picked up the blade.
The TSA guard apparently believed me when I complained that only my sister
would send me through airport security with a knife. He gave me the choice
of checking my bag with the gift, or having it confiscated. After thinking
about how much trouble I would be in with my sister, I checked my only bag.
When I got home, I fed exed the damned knife the rest of the way to my
brother. I don't know why my sister couldn't have fed exed the thing from
LA. KD



"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:84_Hb.6418$xX.15221@attbi_s02...
So we took my 26 year old, blonde, blue-eyed, 6' 4" nephew back to the
Cedar
Rapids airport last night, to catch his red-eye flight back to Seattle.
He
was as sick as a dog (flu?) and weak as a kitten, but go he must, so off
he
went...

The "Eastern Iowa Airport" is a pretty sleepy place on a Sunday night --
even the airport bar was closed (gasp!) -- and there were MAYBE 50 people
in
the entire airport terminal, including employees. Since we were no longer
allowed to go to the gate with him, we said our goodbyes at the entrance
to
the security checkpoint.

This area was staffed by TEN (10!) uniformed TSA guys, waiting to pounce
on
the terrorists who were (no doubt) thronging into the heartland. My
nephew
strolled through the X-ray machine, passed uneventfully, and then put his
single carry-on bag (a back-pack) on the conveyor...

...from our distance it was obvious that the TSA guys were suddenly tense,
and -- although we were beyond earshot -- it was easy to see that
SOMETHING
was wrong. My nephew, weak with flu, stood staring numbly at the people
who
had suddenly gathered around him. He was obviously confused.

Soon he was taken to the side. Within 30 seconds two uniformed police
officers strode purposefully past us, coming from another part of the
airport but obviously on their way to see my nephew. The other officers
were holding something that we couldn't quite see, and were speaking quite
seriously to him, all the while keeping him surrounded by a minimum of
four
TSA guards.

After 10 minutes of this, they took him into an area we could not see.
With
visions of rubber hoses and bright lights, we paced back and forth, unable
to do ANYTHING to help.

What could it be? He certainly fit the terrorist "threat profile" -- for
the "Swedish Liberation Army", perhaps. Since, to our knowledge, Sweden
had not been named an "Axis of Evil" country, we couldn't fathom what had
triggered this response.

After an interminable five minutes he emerged and gave us a weary wave as
he
headed off to his gate. Of course we were unable to find out what had
gone
wrong, or why he had been detained -- the TSA folks simply would not tell
us, and my nephew had no cell phone.

We drove home wondering what the hell my nephew could have done?

Today my sister called, to drop the other shoe. Turns out my OTHER sister
(his aunt) had given my poor nephew a wrapped Xmas present, to give to his
Dad. Inside this present was a "Leatherman Multi-tool" -- obviously
something that could be used as a weapon! My poor nephew had NO idea
what
was in this wrapped gift, and my sister had assumed that he would carry
the
present in his "checked" baggage -- not in his "carry-on" baggage.
Because
he didn't know if it was breakable, he had opted to carry the present
where
it could not be broken.

So, he is now on a permanent list of "potential terrorist threats", is
being
threatened with a $50.00 fine, was put through an awful situation over
which
he had no control or knowledge, and my sister feels thoroughly awful. He
barely made his flight, and (of course) his Dad didn't receive his Xmas
present, since the TSA confiscated it.

And the final irony of the whole story: the "Leatherman" tool, as with so
many things these days, was sealed in one of those plastic containers that
(you guessed it!) requires a knife or scissors to open...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Then I guess your nephew lied when he was asked if he had packed the
suitcase himself and if anyone has given him anything to carry on the
airplane...

They don't ask those silly questions anymore.

And what's wrong with taking the object in question and mailing it
from the airport? TSA doesn't like it? Fine. Take your bags and the
object over to another counter or perhaps the gift shop, get a
mailing box and send it home. I was under the impression that
the objects were confiscated only if you agreed to allow it in order
to continue to the aircraft.

As far as I'm concerned, it's theft by the US Government if there
is no way to return the object to the owner at a later time.

Jay,
Pilots can no longer have a Leatherman. They were a little upset. We
(mechanics) cannot carry our tools through normal security. We have to
take them through special security. The ones who see us every day and
know that we need certain things that are "banned" to do our jobs.
Michelle

Jay Honeck wrote:

So we took my 26 year old, blonde, blue-eyed, 6' 4" nephew back to the Cedar
Rapids airport last night, to catch his red-eye flight back to Seattle. He
was as sick as a dog (flu?) and weak as a kitten, but go he must, so off he
went...

The "Eastern Iowa Airport" is a pretty sleepy place on a Sunday night --
even the airport bar was closed (gasp!) -- and there were MAYBE 50 people in
the entire airport terminal, including employees. Since we were no longer
allowed to go to the gate with him, we said our goodbyes at the entrance to
the security checkpoint.

This area was staffed by TEN (10!) uniformed TSA guys, waiting to pounce on
the terrorists who were (no doubt) thronging into the heartland. My nephew
strolled through the X-ray machine, passed uneventfully, and then put his
single carry-on bag (a back-pack) on the conveyor...

...from our distance it was obvious that the TSA guys were suddenly tense,
and -- although we were beyond earshot -- it was easy to see that SOMETHING
was wrong. My nephew, weak with flu, stood staring numbly at the people who
had suddenly gathered around him. He was obviously confused.

Soon he was taken to the side. Within 30 seconds two uniformed police
officers strode purposefully past us, coming from another part of the
airport but obviously on their way to see my nephew. The other officers
were holding something that we couldn't quite see, and were speaking quite
seriously to him, all the while keeping him surrounded by a minimum of four
TSA guards.

After 10 minutes of this, they took him into an area we could not see. With
visions of rubber hoses and bright lights, we paced back and forth, unable
to do ANYTHING to help.

What could it be? He certainly fit the terrorist "threat profile" -- for
the "Swedish Liberation Army", perhaps. Since, to our knowledge, Sweden
had not been named an "Axis of Evil" country, we couldn't fathom what had
triggered this response.

After an interminable five minutes he emerged and gave us a weary wave as he
headed off to his gate. Of course we were unable to find out what had gone
wrong, or why he had been detained -- the TSA folks simply would not tell
us, and my nephew had no cell phone.

We drove home wondering what the hell my nephew could have done?

Today my sister called, to drop the other shoe. Turns out my OTHER sister
(his aunt) had given my poor nephew a wrapped Xmas present, to give to his
Dad. Inside this present was a "Leatherman Multi-tool" -- obviously
something that could be used as a weapon! My poor nephew had NO idea what
was in this wrapped gift, and my sister had assumed that he would carry the
present in his "checked" baggage -- not in his "carry-on" baggage. Because
he didn't know if it was breakable, he had opted to carry the present where
it could not be broken.

So, he is now on a permanent list of "potential terrorist threats", is being
threatened with a $50.00 fine, was put through an awful situation over which
he had no control or knowledge, and my sister feels thoroughly awful. He
barely made his flight, and (of course) his Dad didn't receive his Xmas
present, since the TSA confiscated it.

And the final irony of the whole story: the "Leatherman" tool, as with so
many things these days, was sealed in one of those plastic containers that
(you guessed it!) requires a knife or scissors to open...



--

Michelle P ATP-ASEL, CP-AMEL, and AMT-A&P

"Elisabeth" a Maule M-7-235B (no two are alike)

Volunteer Pilot, Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic

Volunteer Builder, Habitat for Humanity

Pilots can no longer have a Leatherman. They were a little upset.

In retrospect, what I've taken from this experience is that we, as pilots,
should be more grateful than ever that we have earned the gift of flight --
and we must be prepared and willing to defend this right, even as the
paranoid amongst us seek to strip it away.

My nephew's flight was heading first for Midway (Chicago), to catch his main
flight back to Seattle. According to Destination Direct, I could have flown
him to Chicago myself in 1:12. Given that we were forced to arrive at the
airport fully two hours before his flight was scheduled to depart, it is
obvious that I could have simply flown him there myself in less than half
the time it took the airlines.

In the future, this will be my preferred method -- and I'll keep *my*
Leatherman tool close at hand in the pilot's-side pocket, where it belongs.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

It's not your fault for having it.

It's the administration's fault for not allowing it.

Ever hear the saying "ignorance of the law is no excuse"?

http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?theme=177

Partial quote: "Prohibited items are weapons, explosives, incendiaries, and
include items that are seemingly harmless but may be used as weapons - the
so-called "dual use" items. You may not bring these items to security
checkpoints without authorization....

If you bring a prohibited item to the checkpoint you may be criminally and/or
civilly prosecuted or at the least asked to rid yourself of the item. A
screener and/or Law Enforcement Officer will make this determination depending
on what the item is and the circumstances. This is because bringing a
prohibited item to a security checkpoint - even accidentally - is illegal.

(tough love, baby...and though I'm with those who say he administration's
running roughshod over civil rights, there's been enough publicity that anybody
going to fly commercial could find their way to the site and peruse the
prohibited items. It's actually amazing what you CAN carry, in checked luggage)

Jürgen Exner wrote:
/snip/
Then I guess your nephew lied when he was asked if he had packed the
suitcase himself and if anyone has given him anything to carry on the
airplane...

All in all I would call it a valuable lesson in why it is important to
answer questions truthfully.

jue


First of all, jue, the questions we"has anyone *not known by you*
asked you to carry anything on board?", and "have your bags been out of
your possesion since you packed them?"

Secondly, they stopped asking those questions about two years ago. All
in all I would call it an important lesson in getting your facts
straight before laying judgement...

Happy Flying!
Scott Skylane

In article , Martin Hotze
wrote:

"Jim Fisher" wrote:

Don't believe everything you read, Martin.


Those stories involving the USA I have now reached the stage where I
believe
everything bad. The good things have to be proven, I don't believe them
unless
seen myself or by reliable witnesses. Sad, but true. It was the other way
round
not too long ago.

well, as long as you have an open mind...

--
Bob Noel

Recently, Jay Honeck posted:

So we took my 26 year old, blonde, blue-eyed, 6' 4" nephew back to
the Cedar Rapids airport last night, to catch his red-eye flight back
to Seattle. He was as sick as a dog (flu?) and weak as a kitten, but
go he must, so off he went...

The "Eastern Iowa Airport" is a pretty sleepy place on a Sunday night
-- even the airport bar was closed (gasp!) -- and there were MAYBE 50
people in the entire airport terminal, including employees. Since we
were no longer allowed to go to the gate with him, we said our
goodbyes at the entrance to the security checkpoint.

This area was staffed by TEN (10!) uniformed TSA guys, waiting to
pounce on the terrorists who were (no doubt) thronging into the
heartland. My nephew strolled through the X-ray machine, passed
uneventfully, and then put his single carry-on bag (a back-pack) on
the conveyor...

(rest snipped)

Well, one possible upside is that all 10 TSA guys now have the flu. Of
course, that leaves the Eastern Iowa Airport particularly vulnerable! And,
while it does seem like a long-shot, your nephew *could* have asked one of
the attendants for scissors to open his package, then use the tool to hack
through the cabin door and disable the pilots. Oh, wait, if he had the
scissors, he wouldn't need the tool...

Neil

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 22:31:13 GMT, "Jürgen Exner"
wrote:

Then I guess your nephew lied when he was asked if he had packed the
suitcase himself and if anyone has given him anything to carry on the
airplane...

They don't ask those questions any longer. Please know what you're
talking about before commenting on a foreign security service...

Rob