Airport security to passengers: Please leave grenades home

[numl0ck]

While this is not news, some of the items listed here are simply amazing: snakes in some guy's pants? tazer lipstick? and a spear gun? In what world do you think you can bring a spear gun on to a commercial plane? I was accidently caught with a small pocket knife (forgot to transfer it to my checked bag) and felt terrible. Told TSA where it was in my bag (after they asked me if I had any weapons - post x-ray scan), surrendered it without incident, and was on my merry way.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/14/us-security-tsablog-idUSBRE82D11Y20120314

 

[wsuffa]

TSA recently confiscated a photographer's lens-air-puffer. You know, one of those little handheld squeeze puffers.

Link to article

Why? Because it was the "shape" of a bomb. Apparently it takes real brainpower to tell a bomb from an air puffer.

 

[NoHeat]

Well, I know of a passenger who had smoke grenades removed from his carry-on. (He was Army special forces, on leave, not in uniform, traveling from North Carolina to visit family in Texas last Christmas.) Amazingly, he was allowed to continue on that flight.

Even more amazingly, on his return trip he was stopped for having plastic explosives in his carry-on. He expressed surprise that they were there in his carry-on. This time he was not allowed to continue on his journey, and in fact he was arrested.

That passenger was not a terrorist. Just a stupid show-off, I suppose. But it serves as an example of what people will actually try to carry on to an airliner.

 

[airbornejohnny]

Well, I know of a passenger who had smoke grenades removed from his carry-on. (He was Army special forces, on leave, not in uniform, traveling from North Carolina to visit family in Texas last Christmas.) Amazingly, he was allowed to continue on that flight.

Even more amazingly, on his return trip he was stopped for having plastic explosives in his carry-on. He expressed surprise that they were there in his carry-on. This time he was not allowed to continue on his journey, and in fact he was arrested.

That passenger was not a terrorist. Just a stupid show-off, I suppose. But it serves as an example of what people will actually try to carry on to an airliner.

I served with him prior to him going to SF. He's a good guy, but definitely a dumbass for the explosives.

 

[flyingron]

Back in the pre-TSA days I was going through the security checkpoint (I think it was San Diego). As I put my brief case on the belt, the security agent put a small package wrapped up in baggage tape on top of it. He gave me the "keep quiet" sign so I hurried through the metal detector so I could see what was happening next.

On the X-ray monitor on my bag was a pretty obvious silhouette of a hand grenade. The guy blindly staring at the monitor almost let it go by and then backed it up and looked at it again and then asked me what I had it the bag.

 

[numl0ck]

The guy blindly staring at the monitor almost let it go by and then backed it up...

I understand the bordom level of the job, and it makes you wonder how much stuff gets missed.

 

[DaleB]

Back when they were still doing the random bag checks at the gate, I managed to forget my little Victorinox pocketknife in my laptop bag. You know, the one with fingernail scissors and a 1" or so blade. Made it through the X-ray checkpoint just fine before I remembered it was in there. Then at the gate, wouldn't you know it, they go through my bag and find it. I was really bummed -- my kids had just given that to me for Father's Day a couple of months before. But, rules are rules, so I surrendered it and got on the plane.

Just before they closed the door, I heard my name being called over the PA and saw a TSA guy standing at the front. Oh, crap. I was in for it now. I went up to the front where the TSA guy pulled me aside... handed me my pocket knife... and said he didn't think I was really a threat, and if his kids had given that to him he'd want to keep it.

Once in a while you run into a good one. I'm sure he could have lost his job for doing that.

 

[airbornejohnny]

Back when they were still doing the random bag checks at the gate, I managed to forget my little Victorinox pocketknife in my laptop bag. You know, the one with fingernail scissors and a 1" or so blade. Made it through the X-ray checkpoint just fine before I remembered it was in there. Then at the gate, wouldn't you know it, they go through my bag and find it. I was really bummed -- my kids had just given that to me for Father's Day a couple of months before. But, rules are rules, so I surrendered it and got on the plane.

Just before they closed the door, I heard my name being called over the PA and saw a TSA guy standing at the front. Oh, crap. I was in for it now. I went up to the front where the TSA guy pulled me aside... handed me my pocket knife... and said he didn't think I was really a threat, and if his kids had given that to him he'd want to keep it.

Once in a while you run into a good one. I'm sure he could have lost his job for doing that.

Wow, that's luck!

I understand the bordom level of the job, and it makes you wonder how much stuff gets missed.

Before 9/11 I used to go to work with my dad at a major airport, and often we would eat lunch in the terminal by entering from the ramp. He would tell me about different things the airport did to keep people on their toes, including purposely placing people in restricted areas without their airport I.D. just to test how long they could wander before being challenged or reported. There was some sort of incentive to have helped "pass the test," but it escapes me now. To the drone watching a screen for 8 hours a day I am sure it is still boring, but at least there was some semblance of purpose even before TSA.