TSA: tool = weapon

[joecarve]

More travel fun: Earlier this year, the ever-vigilant TSA forced me to check a carry-on bag because it contained a 5mm T-handle wrench. Fair warning for those of you carrying gear.

Soon we'll all be boarding empty-handed wearing a hospital gown and plastic flip-flops...

joe...

[scotts.Scheinman]

THAtT HAPPEND TO ME ALSO. I carry my tool in my jacket in case antthing goes wrong on the mountain. The denver tsa took it away from me. They also said it can be a weapon. oh yes a little screw driver will kill somone.

[Ginsu]

I had several 1-4inch special Allen keys for my work and they wouldn't let me carry them on at Chicago yet I had gone from Portland, OR to Europe and all the back to Chicago to connect back to PDX and got stopped with them. It makes no sense but then again neither do Terrorists.

[mirror70]

Some people might say that these restrictions are pointless, idiotic, and make a total farce of air safety.

I say everyone should just look on the bright side: At least no terrorists will die with a clean shave or a fresh manicure.

Don't you feel safer already?

[D-Sub]

at least you didnt get shot for having a panic attack

[skategoat]

Same thing here. I had a compact screwdriver with multi-bit confiscated. But then I suggested they take the bits and I keep the handle and they agreed.

What bugs me about these rules is the fact that they incorporate little common sense. A 1-inch long screwdriver bit is a weapon but a wine bottle or a laptop computer is not.

Thankfully in Canadian airports, they've stopped confiscating nail clippers.

[Dan]

And all the silverware is plastic now, even though the stuff they use is barely sharp enough to cut scrambled eggs...and they still hand out nice pointy chopsticks, which would be a much better stabbing tool than any piece of lame dull airline silverware.

[kjl]

True story:

I had a DaKine snowboard tool in my backpack when I tried to get on a plane to Vancouver. The TSA guy found it, and made all sorts of noise about it being a weapon, etc.. I tried to reason with him: "It's a snowboard tool - I need it to put my bindings on when I get to Whistler or I won't be able to ride. Look, I'm not a terrorist - see the goggles, gloves, extra ankle strap, and socks in the bag?" He said there was no way I could bring it on board. I said, "How about if I take the bit out?" and took the screwdriver bit out and put it in my pocket... and then he let me on board, with the snowboard tool handle in my backpack, one bit in my pants pocket, and the other 2 bits stored in the side of the handle.

Stupidity overcome by an appeal to even deeper stupidity...

As a side note, I always forget to take my utilikey (knife/screwdriver that folds into a key) off my keychain when I get on flights, and nobody ever finds it. I'm travelling home this Christmas, and I guarantee by the time comes around next week, I'll have forgotten again and find myself once again on a flight carrying a dangerous weapon on board. Oops.

[Speedzilla]

Do they really think that someone can take over a jet with a screwdriver, knife, or bottle opener after what we all learned on 09/11/01?

I don't care if someone jumps up with a machete, the other passengers on the plane will take them down before they can take over the plane.

We ARE smarter now.

[Gecko]

More travel fun: Earlier this year, the ever-vigilant TSA forced me to check a carry-on bag because it contained a 5mm T-handle wrench. Fair warning for those of you carrying gear.

Soon we'll all be boarding empty-handed wearing a hospital gown and plastic flip-flops...

joe...

yes and a Zippo lighter shell (not the part that holds the wick) is a detonator...TSA at SeaTac stole my Zippo from the USS Kitty Hawk :(

[D-Sub]

it's only gonna get worse, folks. far too many people think that it is a "fair trade for security"

I even had someone tell me they were glad that guy was shot the other day..."it means they're doing their job"

wow

[tufty]

it's only gonna get worse, folks. far too many people think that it is a "fair trade for security"

I even had someone tell me they were glad that guy was shot the other day..."it means they're doing their job"

wow

Yeah, boggles the mind.

Not to mention that in the hands of someone determined enough, anything can be a weapon. Anything. It's more about making people _feel_ safe than making people _actually_ safe. Terrorism cannot be fought. Only endured.

I'll stop now before I say something that will offend the many Americans on the board, and hey, it's not related to carving anyway. Please ignore me.

Simon

[D-Sub]

it is indirectly related to snowboarding, because a lot of snowboarders travel. Ive heard _so_ many stories about people being hassled for the most ludicrous nonsense, and now someone has been _murdered_

sorry...this makes me more angry than Ive ever felt. I've always hated authority, especially when it is abused, and now we're so cowed into submission...

argh. sorry [/rant]

[sharples]

thanks for the reminders, I'm definitely gonna put all my sb tools in my checked in board bag when I go out to Tahoe next week. don't want to take any chances.

last I heard however, they might reallow small utility tools including small razor blades on board so go figure? check the TSA website for details.

on a sidenote my company collects hazardous materials confiscated by the TSA, you should see how much lighters they dispose of, its crazy....

[James Ong]

D-Sub it is indirectly related to snowboarding, because a lot of snowboarders travel. Ive heard _so_ many stories about people being hassled for the most ludicrous nonsense, and now someone has been _murdered_

It's always sad when someone dies needlessly. However, he claimed to have a bomb and when ordered to lay on the ground, he reached into his pack.

Put yourselves in the shoes of the officers doing their job, not an easy situation.

Speedzilla Do they really think that someone can take over a jet with a screwdriver, knife, or bottle opener after what we all learned on 09/11/01?

Lets remember that prior to 9/11 the items allegedly used to take over the planes were perfectly legal to carry-on. I have carried on pretty big knives in the past myself. Even knowing this , a lot of people complain that we "should" have seen this coming and that the administration neglected airline security . So in this case it is understandable that they would err on the side of caution and not allow any sharp tools on the plane.

It's not as if the list of banned items hadn't been available to the public all this time.

[Jack M]

D-Sub, you sound like you don't realize the guy actually said he had a bomb in his backpack. When he announced this, they escorted him off the boarding bridge and told him to lay on the ground. He then reached into his backpack and that's when they shot him. What more do you need? They did the right thing. The only thing to feel bad about is that his wife was married to a lunatic.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/07/airplane.gunshot/index.html

[tex1230]

If I reply the way I want to I'm gonna get this thread locked and probably be banned for life....

Terrorists are scum. lowest form of life in the world. they should be rounded up and killed in the most painful way possible.

if you need your tools, put them in your checked bags or mail them to yourself at your destination. Get a clue - we live in dangerous times.

Someone says they've got a bomb on a plane, they should be killed without hesitation. Better one dead lunatic than 100 dead because nobody took it seriously.

Flame away...I can take it

(by the way - that was the mildest response I could make)

[~tb]

D-Sub, you sound like you don't realize the guy actually said he had a bomb in his backpack. When he announced this, they escorted him off the boarding bridge and told him to lay on the ground. He then reached into his backpack and that's when they shot him. What more do you need? They did the right thing. The only thing to feel bad about is that his wife was married to a lunatic.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/07/airplane.gunshot/index.html

. . . ditto . . .

you ever notice people like to complain just for the sake of complaining?

Lets say that they did let someone on with a big ass T-handle allen wrench. Somone used it to impale a member of the flight crew through the temple to instill fear, and then grabbed the next member of the flight crew in attempt to hijack the plane. . . What would have happened. The same people would be on this board posting how crappy of a job TSA does and that they should have stopped someone from carrying on that tool. They would then probably take the next step and say how obvious it is that a T-handle allen wrench could be used as a weapon and how DUMB these people must be to let it past security. These people would probably go even further and theorize how easy it would be to shapen a point on the tip of wrench while on board the plane to make it an even more effective weapon.

Im glad that they didnt let you carry this on! Im glad that they restrict some of the items I would want to carry on.

As my parents would have said, "you know what the rules of the game are, if you dont like them, dont play the game. Furthermore dont come home crying when you get in trouble for not playing by the rules."

rant over. . .

Wanna hear dumb though?!?!?! One week before a business trip I used my work bag to clean out my car. Through a whole bunch of extra crap from my car into my bag, went into the house and emptied out the bag. Re-packed my work bag an left for my trip. Got to security, put my bag through the scanner, and get a really wierd look from the individual on the x-ray machine. "please come with me sir." (GULP!). Turns out I never managed to get my spare tire iron out of my bag! now that thing is a weapon!

[kipstar]

Oh man! Now you asked for flaming!"!

ok, flame grilled whopper, with cheese.

CombO ESSAY!

What do you say to that?!

a. I'm luvin it

b. Priceless

c. It just tastes betta innit

d. all of the above

e. Nah, bring me In and Out double double

Can't help but agree with the sentiment of the b-day boy (d to da S to da U to da B get bizeee!); all these measures are starting to get a bit over the top...

But that said, we gots some terrorists running amok down south here... hard to reason with them when they have been brainwashed to think they were invisible when they attacked the army here and also are doing random killings of teachers and monks (the worst crime you can do in a Buddhist country, but of course, they are not Buddhist).

Still, at least here in Thailand, 50 years of the problem in the making; time to sort out the problems, of which these nutters running around with guns/bombs etc are just a symptom. A lot of the terrorists are the product of a pretty bad environment which it is well within our capabilities to fix, so that the real nutters controlling them have their power stripped.

Stripped.

Strippers.

Oh yeah, that is what it is about :-)

[astrokel]

As my parents would have said, "you know what the rules of the game are, if you dont like them, dont play the game. Furthermore dont come home crying when you get in trouble for not playing by the rules."

And clearly the rules that are being made at the present time are ones that are wise and considered and that look upon all practical limitations that minimize the dangers. Right? We should as Americans never question the authority that is presented to us because we are good Americans and have God given rights to follow the leaders that are given to us. Long live the king!

Uhm... Didn't this country START because the "children" didn't want to play by the rules? Are the laws of this country now so perfect and polished that any dissent from those laws is just silly? If so that's pretty cool... Unfortunately there are still a lot of those crazy's out there that think that perfection hasn't yet been achieved.

"rant over"... I'm outta this thread

[Derf]

If I reply the way I want to I'm gonna get this thread locked and probably be banned for life....

Terrorists are scum. lowest form of life in the world. they should be rounded up and killed in the most painful way possible.

if you need your tools, put them in your checked bags or mail them to yourself at your destination. Get a clue - we live in dangerous times.

Someone says they've got a bomb on a plane, they should be killed without hesitation. Better one dead lunatic than 100 dead because nobody took it seriously.

Flame away...I can take it

(by the way - that was the mildest response I could make)

Terrorism is wrong, but so is taking someone's life. I'm quite sure the person can be stopped without killing him or her. It's, in my opinion, excessive force.

[Gecko]

I felt much safer outside the USA than I do back at home...the little things the the PTB (powers that be) have deemed are neccessary to control are all but meaningless in the grand scheme of things the reason that 911 succeeded was more related to the passifist attitude that we indoctrinated everyone to have when threatened. No one is encouraged to respond to threat not for fear to their life but fear of a lawsuit. In the USA people are conditioned to let the "authorities" handle anything untward rather than risk a trip to court. much of this I say because I drove an unlicensed car from San Diego California to Rhode Island buying diesel twice a day, staying in motels and I was never questioned, never asked for ID. Even driving through DC and NYC...the TSA exists to make people who will rarely if ever fly feel comfortable. The next terrorist attack won't be by airplane

[tex1230]

It has nothing to do with questioning authority and everything to do with saving lives. why don't we just eliminate all the rules and let the crazies fly the planes into whatever gets in their way? Damn! and you live in NYC - how can you forget?

[~tb]

Uhm... Didn't this country START because the "children" didn't want to play by the rules? Are the laws of this country now so perfect and polished that any dissent from those laws is just silly? If so that's pretty cool... Unfortunately there are still a lot of those crazy's out there that think that perfection hasn't yet been achieved.

It sure did start becuase of the "children that didnt want to play by the rules." These people cared enough about their cause to effect change. They organized, tried to effect change through political means, and when that didnt work, they bore arms, declared independance, and eventually, fought a war.

bitching in a snowboarding internet chat room is not effecting change.

If you really feel this way, get in a position to do something about it (might I reccomend that that position is not sitting infront of your computer on an internet chat room). Im almost disgusted that you are drawing a parallel between the actions of someone complaining in this forum to that of those people bold enough to draft the decleration of independance.

Do you have a legitimate proposal to how this should really be handeled? Every system in the world is flawed. I have the right to bare arms dont i? Shouldn't I be allowed to carry my gun on a plane?

[astrokel]

Damn! and you live in NYC - how can you forget?

I will not address any other part of your post but... the first plane flew over me (as I was sitting at my desk at work with the window open) that morning. I live five blocks away from "ground zero". I saw people/bodies "fly" off the towers. The eingine of one of the planes landed on my block. So please, I have not forgotten... :(

I wish not to continue in this thread but if anyone else addresses me directly I will respond...

All arguements are flawed...