Guns and Airplanes

[CPT Tripss]

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/brea...gun_handed_off_at_airport__gets_on_plane.html

Aarrgghh . . . the shoe circus and ban on liquids isn't the problem, TSA rules that give airport, airline and TSA employees a pass on the screenings is the problem.

TSA needs to xray all bags and screen all people entering secure areas of airports! The existing practices are just more holes in the security.

Be afraid, be very afraid . . . perhaps we need to report every person who isn't a uniformed Law Enforcement Officer carrying a through/around a checkpoint. And, for the record, TSA employees are not LEOs!

 

[princessjane]

Philly doesn't exactly have the best security. I've flown several international flights through there and the security lines are so packed, they practically wave everyone through. I'm sure this has not been the first or will be the last time something like this happens.

 

[beccasmom]

When I heard the story yesterday, I immediately thought it had to be at PHL and it was. Unbelievable! Sometimes it makes me want to re-think the whole driving-to-Disney scenario.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Sadly, PHL isn't the only airport where there are these security snafus. Of course we tend to hear what happens locally.

Alvin Crabtree, the TSA bag checker who brought the gun to work in Denver kept his job and is now back on the pax security line.

The TSA bag checker who stole all the electronics from bags in Newark is due sentencing in a couple weeks.

Terminal dumps happen much more frequently at other airports compared to PHL.

But all in all it's just symptomatic of the ineffectiveness of TSA rules that exempt airport and TSA employees from security screens.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Most airlines and other airport tenants have rules in place that cover the proper (and improper) use of sterile-access doors in airports. The TSA requires every person (employee or not) to go through a security checkpoint BEFORE boarding an aircraft to fly, regardless if they are credentialed and able to utilize secure access doors. The TSA also has in place at airports under its jurisdiction a program called ADASP. ADASP is the program by which TSA personnel station themselves on the sterile-side of a random access door at random hours of theday or night and 'screen' involuntarily any badged or credentialed individual who passes through that door, whether for the purposes of flying or not. Is it 100%? Not even close. Is it a deterrent? Obviously not to the guy in PHI.

As someone who utilizes the sterile-access doors on a daily basis, I wouldn't dream of carrying anything with my person that wouldn't pass through a security checkpoint, even though by law, I can, and 90% of the time I'm not en route to board an aircraft. When I fly, I follow the same rules going through security as every other passenger. The biggest problem isn't airline/airport employees bringing contraband through the access doors; it's airline/airport personnel who would rather bypass the long and winding security line. Airports are finally addressing this point and making separate lines for employees/crew.

 

[CPT Tripss]

I don't see how it matters whether someone is planning to fly or not. When someone goes from the "outside" into the sterile area, he/she should be screened. It it were not for the shoe circus, it would be a simple matter of walking through the metal detector . . . not very time consuming. At the known shift change times, dedicate one detector to the screening. At other times, use "fast pass" approach on one machine (put a sign on it so other travellers know).

No one should get a free pass as is now the case. TSA employees are not screened when they enter the sterile area. Neither airline employees nor are employees of the concessionaires (such as food services and other vendors). It would also be a good idea to screen TSA employees when they are going off duty to assure that they are not in possession of stolen goods or goods that have been "volutarily surrendered."

On second thought, maybe working flight crews could get a free pass - if they want to do harm, they don't really need anything with them.