"luggage subject to search"

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hankrausch

Pre-takeoff checklist
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GoodbyePOA
I just set down in Covington, Ga for the night and there is a sign on the fence, "pilots & passengers must be escorted to the plane" and another one "luggage subject to search". As far as I can tell this is a pretty low-key field, there do not seem to be any scheduled flights, and it is un-towered. And there isn't any escorting of people to their planes going on.

Can anyone really search one's bags? what if I said no?
 
Sounds like a ploy to keep people from snooping around, we have a sign at my field that says "No unauthorized personnel" and I suppose nobody unauthorized has breached it yet. I wouldn't know who that would be even if they did. The signs are sad in my opnion, folks outta be able to come out to the airport (and they can) but the signs aren't too inviting and make folks think that if they cross the fence they'll be extra ordinary renditioned off to some CIA prison in Somalia
 
Homeland Security, through the fence, and all that jizz jazz
 
With respect to the first sign:

"Pilots & passengers must be escorted to the plane"

Pilots and passengers must be escorted to the plane - In any combination of the previous, multiple pilots, multiple passengers, or a pilot and a passenger, each will be mutually escorted by the other. There is no requirement for a single pilot or a single passenger to be escorted.

You could also interpret that to mean only the instance where you have multiple pilots and multiple passengers would require an escort. Again, all will be mutually escorted by the others.

With respect to the second sign:

"Luggage subject to search"

If it is possible that there may be nearby individuals looking for your luggage, well then logically, all luggage is subject to search.
 
Are there any air carrier ops there? I know you said its sleepy but there are some very rural airports with commercial service. I'm also wondering is this is the airport where Spikes friend had so much grief.
 
hankrausch said:
Can anyone really search one's bags? what if I said no?
Click to expand...

I believe anyone working for or on behalf of a government in the U.S. is bound by the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. So they would need probable cause or a warrant.

But the 4th Amendment doesn't apply to private citizens, so they certainly could try to search your bags - and any evidence of unlawful activities they find could be admitted in any subsequent court proceedings (i.e. exclusionary rule doesn't apply.) I believe it is a case-by-case determination whether there is any wink-and-nod going on between police trying to bypass the exclusionary rule and such a private citizen.

However, it being a public access airport, even if on private property, I believe you could legally say no to any such request by a private person or security guard and even be within your rights to use force to protect yourself and your property. I think any force or search used on you during such a search attempt could be considered battery or trespass by them.

On the other hand, a failure to leave in a reasonable time after a request to leave would probably make you open to losing any lawsuit for trespass.

All IMVHO.
 
Unless it is LE, TSA or a TSA-approved/mandated program; I am unlikely to cooperate
with such a request from a FBO.
 
Jim Logajan said:
I believe anyone working for or on behalf of a government in the U.S. is bound by the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. So they would need probable cause or a warrant.
Click to expand...

The Fourth Amendment only prohibits "unreasonable" searches. That has turned out to be a huge loophole. :(
 
My escort? Oh, allow me to introduce you to Harvey...

Harvey%20movie%20Jimmy%20Stewart.jpeg
 
Is this sort of like the one many 135 operations that have to randomly drug test themselves? :)
 
I would suggest the PIC of any plane has the authority to search any bag on their plane. I know I do.

So, in that regard the sign is correct. Bags ARE subject to search.
 
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You have the authority to order anyone off the plane who refuses a bag search, I would think (while you're on the ground!)
 
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