believe it or not- you won't believe what happened to me this week!

[spydaman60]

yes, it does involve a gun or two! while traveling back from Manitoba from a duck hunting trip on the great delta marsh, I had to fly back through Chicago to get to Newark. never had any good experience at o'hare and just got done telling my buddy about all the nightmares as we boarded the jet. sitting down and five minutes from takeoff I hear, "would mr. Bergeron please press the stewardess call button." I did as requested only to have three tsa agents and a stewardess converge on me and ask that I follow them. now mind ya, my guns had been checked in Winnipeg by tsa personnel and x-rayed right in front of us as we approached security. once off the plane I am told that they had my guns and that I would have to open the case and let them inspect the contents. there goes the jet, my luggage and my duck huntin buddy. after about a twenty minute run from terminal c underground to terminal b where tsa was, I am met by three more tsa agents and taken into a room where they had my gun case. I asked what the problem was, and this is what I got for a response-"there is gunpowder residue on the case and there appears to be two cylinders inside the case." no ing sh--! ya think? just got done shooting 1000 trap targets and nearly 100 ducks and geese with the two guns and you think there could be some gun powder residue. they proceeded to open the case and I explained how semi automatics work with gas and the cylinder which encases it. you'd think tsa employees would have to have a little knowledge when it comes to weapons. luckily there was another flight to nj about an hour later, and I was on it! what a bunch of bozo's! my apologies in advance if any of you spyderlovers are tsa agents, but gee I hope that isn't so!!!

[lwrydr]

Try riding a Harley over the border into Canada.....that is an interesting experience.....

[murphybrown]

Try riding a Harley over the border into Canada.....that is an interesting experience.....

Or maybe it was the drift camera I had mounted on my helmet...the border "guard" about stroked out...I was verrrrry good and just kept my mouth shut and did as instructed...guard: Is that a camera on your helmet...me: Yep.....guard with panic in voice: get it off NOW get it off NOW..... oh there was soooooo much I wanted to say....

[DJFaninTN]

TSA agents are some of the dumbest folks around ... but what do you expect for $8 an hour?

Doesn't that make you feel better boarding that multi million dollar jet and knowing they are your first line of defense??

[spydaman60]

TSA agents are some of the dumbest folks around ... but what do you expect for $8 an hour?

Doesn't that make you feel better boarding that multi million dollar jet and knowing they are your first line of defense??

not one bit!

[Flanker]

They're like any large group of employees. You get some good ones, and some bad ones.........................most are in between somewhere. A far bigger issue, in my opinion, is the way their procedures and policies are written. The TSA Agents have to follow their own regs (however they may interpret them...............common sense not always being that common), and if it's a one size fits all reg..................then like what happened to spydaman, happens. I'm a career security specialist and can cite chapter and verse on both physical plant and dynamic security; I've also done a fair bit of international flying for my career and in my experience the US/TSA is the most Mickey Mouse bogged down feel good/look good rules of any western country I've flown through. The Israeli's (lived in Israel for two years) are the best.

[Bob Denman]

Chuck,
Sorry to hear that you caught some crap over a real big "nothing"
But I do have to say that security in Orlando turned out to be pretty darned decent to me...
Flying back from WDE in 2011...
I step into the security scanner... I found out the hard way that you NEVER touch the walls of that scanner!!
(Limping on a bad foot, and taking the meds that I'm, on makes me wobble... )
Next thing I know; I'm off in a booth somewhere while they figure out if they should shoot me, or just run over me with a baggage cart a few times.
Once they decide that I'm just a Klutz; I'm free to go... Now I'm flustered, and in the process of putting all of the stuff away that I had to strip off, I dropped a really nice sapphire & diamond ring that the Missus had given me. We get into the tram to take us out to the gate, and the Missus notices that it's gone! We jump out of the tram, head back into the lion's den... There's a door marked "No admittance". BULL! Right through it we go, and I see a guy sitting in an elevated postion with his eyes on some camers... I ask him if anybody had found a ring that I had dropped. He asked me to describe it; I was so flustered that I could barely squeak out the worst description that I could muster. He holds it up... "Is this it?"

So I applaud their honesty in Orlando!

[cuznjohn]

Chuck,
Sorry to hear that you caught some crap over a real big "nothing"
But I do have to say that security in Orlando turned out to be pretty darned decent to me...
Flying back from WDE in 2011...
I step into the security scanner... I found out the hard way that you NEVER touch the walls of that scanner!!
(Limping on a bad foot, and taking the meds that I'm, on makes me wobble... )
Next thing I know; I'm off in a booth somewhere while they figure out if they should shoot me, or just run over me with a baggage cart a few times.
Once they decide that I'm just a Klutz; I'm free to go... Now I'm flustered, and in the process of putting all of the stuff away that I had to strip off, I dropped a really nice sapphire & diamond ring that the Missus had given me. We get into the tram to take us out to the gate, and the Missus notices that it's gone! We jump out of the tram, head back into the lion's den... There's a door marked "No admittance". BULL! Right through it we go, and I see a guy sitting in an elevated postion with his eyes on some camers... I ask him if anybody had found a ring that I had dropped. He asked me to describe it; I was so flustered that I could barely squeak out the worst description that I could muster. He holds it up... "Is this it?"

So I applaud their honesty in Orlando!

i don't fly, never have never will so why can't you touch the scanner what does it do

[Bob Denman]

All that I know about it is that if you touch it ; BAD things happen to your day!

[cuznjohn]

back in the 70's i was doing runway work out at kennedy airport. we were installing the taxi lights for the planes to follow. i saw so many emergency's i swore i would never fly .

[Bob Denman]

I fly if I have to... I like to believe that the journey is as important as the destination, but sometimes the time elements involved do not allow that luxury...
We normally use Albany or Newburgh; no problems whatsoever!

[cuznjohn]

I fly if I have to... I like to believe that the journey is as important as the destination, but sometimes the time elements involved do not allow that luxury...
We normally use Albany or Newburgh; no problems whatsoever!

well you have to remember that any small problem is considered a emergency on a flight but when you see fire trucks and medical personal chasing planes down a runway it makes you think

[Bob Denman]

You're balancing "Chance of an event" versus "severity of event"...
Getting hit by lighting can also happen with some really severe consequences... I bet that you still go outside though!
Something will eventually get you ; here's to hoping that it's old age!

[cuznjohn]

You're balancing "Chance of an event" versus "severity of event"...
Getting hit by lighting can also happen with some really severe consequences... I bet that you still go outside though!
Something will eventually get you ; here's to hoping that it's old age!

after prostate surgery a good electrical shock might help me

[Bob Denman]

Maybe not...

[Flanker]

Body scanners come two basic varieties. Walk thru magna scanners to pick up any metal on you. And the dreaded backscatter radar scanners that so many were pissing and moaning about in airports (they show a nude image of you on the monitor----I supervised one extensively on my last project in Iraq). Unfortunately, I can't get into specifics of their operation, or performance in a publicly viewable forum like this. If Bob (a commonly used terrorist aka..... as in Abu Bob ) bumped a walk thru magna scanner hard enough to jiggle, or physically move it (many aren't mounted to the floor) it would throw off it's calibration causing extra set up work for the staff. A bump shouldn't have had any ill effect on a backscatter. In our case; if Abu Bob had made some subtle attempt at disabling our equipment..........................we'd have hauled him off to a secluded area, where we would have had an "intense" personal interaction; involving him mercilessly with cooked cauliflowers until he sold us cut rate insurance, or shared his Spyder decorating secrets. Then we'd have sent his backside out to find he'd missed is flight; sure in the knowledge he'd never try an operation on us again. Have a nice day, Sir!

[bruiser]

Been there done that. When Kris was on dialysis (peritoneal) I was awarded a trip to Cancun by my employer. After working with HR and some other folks, we were cleared to take her equipment with us on the trip. The machine fit in a metal suitcase that we purchased just for the trip. Predominately displayed on the outside of the case were the words 'Medical equipment. Handle with care'. Note that we hand carried the suitcase. First airport, case went through x ray and there was a gathering of agents looking at the screen and a lot of back and forth whispering. Two supervisors were called and we were taken off to the side. We gave them the doctors letter, they opened the case and inspected the machine and Kris even offered to show them her portacath, After much discussion they let us go. Before we left the security area we were stopped again and another agent swabbed the case and contents for explosives. At the next airport we had to have the case inspected again. Same procedures, same questions. When I asked why, I was told that the case may have been tampered with. OK. We were on a plane, the case was in our possession the whole time. Anyway, the remaining trip to Cancun was good. Now comes the return trip. Mexican airport security??? They scan the case, open it, ask what it is, and off we go. However, when they scan Kris' purse . She had a small ink pen that showed up on the scan. Empty the purse, find the ink pen that is in a small memo pad. Convince the security people that it is not a syringe or weapon. Off we go. Waiting in the secure(?) boarding area, Mexican Army member comes over, demands to inspect case. Questions us. Ok. Flight to Charlotte good except for packed jet. No place to put case so flight attendant reluctantly puts it in a closet. Pass through customs no problem. Head to boarding for connecting flight. Guess what happened? Long lines, scan, play question and answer again. Just barely made connecting flight.

Then there was the flight I had to take and they found metal in my shoes...

[Bob Denman]

Peritoneal dialyis??
Kathy did the "hemo" version 3x weekly @ four hours a sitting...
We were curious about how the "peri" version worked...

[Bob Denman]

Flanker,

[cuznjohn]

Peritoneal dialyis??
Kathy did the "hemo" version 3x weekly @ four hours a sitting...
We were curious about how the "peri" version worked...

bob when you fly do they question your insulin pump. and from the other post i still make insulin in my body so they won't pay for the pump

[bruiser]

Peritoneal dialyis??
Kathy did the "hemo" version 3x weekly @ four hours a sitting...
We were curious about how the "peri" version worked...

PM sent.

[Bob Denman]

bob when you fly do they question your insulin pump. and from the other post i still make insulin in my body so they won't pay for the pump

They just ask me what it is; it's never been an issue!

Jim,
I got your PM... THANKS!

[spydermyke990]

Consider this for a second... People are raising all kinds of hell about the body scanner, but won't think twice about getting an X-ray at the dentist's office or the hospital...and at those places the doctor and staff give you a lead shield to wear, and hide in a lead lined closet while the machine takes an X-ray!!! Mean while the tsa people are standing right next to it!


Of course on my recent trip to the Philippines to see my future wife, to get to the plane at Manila airport to come back home, there are 4 different security checkpoints to go through... And that includes clearing customs to EXIT the country... And then clearing US customs and having bags searched twice, sounds like overkill to me.

[prmurat]

You must love to eat duck and goose meat... How did you transport the 100 back home?

[Dan_Ashley]

?..in my experience the US/TSA is the most Mickey Mouse bogged down feel good/look good rules of any western country ?...

You are too kind. No. I am not being sarcastic. You really are being too kind.