Why do pilots go through TSA?

[air-cool-me]

How Can Guns Get Stolen From Check Baggage & Go Unnoticed? - Flying With Fish

American Airlines workers among 23 held in drug flights - CNN


Its security theater..... to make you feel better

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by jyl

I suppose a pilot's badge and uniform wouldn't be impossible to counterfeit, and then you have a class of people who can wheel a flight case of hand grenades, submachine guns, whatever they like, into the airport, because they don't go through security. Smart idea, guys.

You've got a point.

[Rick Lee]

I had a UAL pilot stop me on the way off the plane and ask if I was a cop. I said "No. Why?" He said he had me on a list as having brought a gun on board. I said, "Yes, but I checked it." He said they didn't tell him that. So I asked why he was waiting until we landed to ask me about it. He said he figured I might have been a sky marshal. Then I asked him why they stuck me in the last row on the plane and how I'd be able to help them from there. He said it was no big deal.

[red-beard]

I usually spot the Sky Marshalls. I think it comes from concealed carry. Once you known how most people do it, you can spot it pretty quickly. It's how I spottted the guy in Mexico that was NOT law enforcement and was carrying.

[sammyg2]

Having a TWIC card helps. It doesn't eliminate all the BS but it cuts it down a little.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Having a TWIC card helps. It doesn't eliminate all the BS but it cuts it down a little.

Of course I could look it up, but it's more fun to ask. What does TWIC stand for? "This Whitey Is Cleared"

[Embraer]

Originally Posted by red-beard

I usually spot the Sky Marshalls. I think it comes from concealed carry. Once you known how most people do it, you can spot it pretty quickly. It's how I spottted the guy in Mexico that was NOT law enforcement and was carrying.

FYI, they're not called Sky Marshals anymore. That changed after the creation of the DHS/FAM Service.

I've been the lead security instructor at my airline for a while now. I get a weekly briefing from the different Federal Security Directors on current events at our different bases.

I could go on and on. In a nutshell....I'll just say that public perception is a large a factor to the "workings" of the TSA.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Yep.

One project I'm working on is at an airport terminal doing a remodel of some interior spaces. Despite all the TSA and security B.S. I've already spotted about a dozen ways someone could EASILY access and/or blow up an airplane if they were really hell-bent on doing it. Most of this security stuff is a show to set the average dumbass traveler at ease with a false sense of security so they'll keep their wallets cracked open.

Fortunately (for airline travelers) I think the next A.Q. attack is unlikely to be a transportation target - it'll be far easier for them to get some AR-15s or AK-47s and simultaneously open up on a few shopping malls kinda like what happened in Mumbai. Seriously - can you imagine how badly that would throw our feeble economy in the schitter at this point? Don't think they haven't thought about it too. After being thwarted with bombs in underwear and shoes I wouldn't be surprised to see them change their tactics, even though they'd love to blow up an airplane I think they've realized that lower-tech, less "dramatic" attacks can do a lot of lasting damage, if that's their goal.

So be vigilant. Not paranoid, but aware. We're vulnerable as a society and a nation right now and the enemy knows it.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by KC911

Of course I could look it up, but it's more fun to ask. What does TWIC stand for? "This Whitey Is Cleared"

Yep, that's it. good guess.








Naw, it's actually a transportation worker identification credential.
https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/

What is TWIC?
TWIC is a common identification credential for all personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas of MTSA -regulated facilities and vessels, and all mariners holding Coast Guard-issued credentials. Individuals who meet TWIC eligibility requirements will be issued a tamper-resistant credential containing the worker's biometric (fingerprint template) to allow for a positive link between the card and the individual. (homeport.uscg.mil)
How was TWIC created?
Congress directed the federal government, through the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA), to issue a biometric security credential to individuals who require unescorted access to secure areas of facilities and vessels and all mariners holding Coast Guard- issued credentials or qualification documents. Controlling access to secure areas is critical to enhancing port security. (homeport.uscg.mil)
How will the TWIC be used?
During the initial rollout, TWIC will be used for visual identity checks. TWIC holders will present their cards to authorized personnel, who will compare the holder to his or her photo, inspect security features on the TWIC and evaluate the card for signs of tampering. The Coast Guard will conduct vessel and facility inspections and use hand -held readers during spot checks to ensure credentials are valid and identity is verified. A second rulemaking will establish access control requirements, including the use of electronic readers by certain vessel and facility owners and operators.
Who must get a TWIC?
Coast Guard-credentialed merchant mariners, port facility employees, long shore workers, truck drivers, and others requiring unescorted access to secure areas of maritime facilities and vessels regulated by MTSA are required to get a TWIC. (homeport.uscg.mil)

Basically they check your driver's license, check your social security card, and charge you $132.50 for an official looking badge every 5 years.
BTW, we've been doing this exact same verification prior to hiring for decades already, but we didn't charge the $132.50. That extra cost only started when congress got involved.

About all it's good for is you don't have to stand in line at an airport.

[Aurel]

They have a similar program for cutting immigration lines that they were advertising last time I came in from France at Newark. The agent was actually handing cards to the people in line. Also about 100 bucks for 5 years. Those agencies must be looking for new revenue sources.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Aurel

They have a similar program for cutting immigration lines that they were advertising last time I came in from France at Newark. The agent was actually handing cards to the people in line. Also about 100 bucks for 5 years. Those agencies must be looking for new revenue sources.

The CDN/US version is Nexus. It saves me 20+ minutes every time I fly out & 10-20 minutes on return. You do not hop security however. It is a bargain for $50 for 5 years imho. Fingerprints & eye scan & mild security check are done during the application process. My frequent flyer status gives me a fast track lane for security in Canada but it is just a line jump. Last week they were doing a laptop day - every laptop was swabbed.

Ian

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by island911

TSA is a ridiculous charade.

United Airlines Flight 93 put an end to the idea that a passenger plane could be taken over, and used as a weapon. If a big jet is again used, as a missile, it will be a cargo plane(s) - not a passenger plane(s). ...seems SO freaking obvious.

All of this metal scanning is also misplaced effort. --ceramics anybody?

And, already, bad-guys shove weapons up their ass -- making all of TSA's efforts nothing more than an easter-egg hunt for the common traveler's bottled water, cans of pop, knitting needles and nipple piercings.

. . . but at least now, with really expensive back-scatter machines, TSA has images to share amongst themselves (for now) to keep the job interesting and fun.

It's those nipple piercings that will keep the body scanning going.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Yep, that's it. good guess.








Naw, it's actually a transportation worker identification credential.
https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/


Basically they check your driver's license, check your social security card, and charge you $132.50 for an official looking badge every 5 years.
BTW, we've been doing this exact same verification prior to hiring for decades already, but we didn't charge the $132.50. That extra cost only started when congress got involved.

About all it's good for is you don't have to stand in line at an airport.

My wife has a TWIC. It hasn't helped her. Maybe she doesn't know.

(Edit) Just checked with her. She said she's had some success, but the last time she went through Birmingham AL, they refused it saying too many fakes.

Nice.

[Leland Pate]

Why do pilots go through TSA?

Bureaucracy.

It's the same reason I was required to surrender my fingernail clippers on a military C-17 flight to the mid east in 2001. Did I mention I had a GAU slung on my chest and about 1,200 lbs of 1.1 explosives not 5 foot away in a M-101 trailer?

My rifle was ok... my very explosive roll on cargo was ok... But those damn fingernail clippers gotta go...

[rattlsnak]

We only have to go through security at airports other than our base. At our base, we have an airport SIDA badge, which lets us bypass security. At any other airport, like on overnights, etc, we have to go through, but with "different" rules, as Im allowed to carry as much liquid, toothpaste, or whatever, that i can fit into my bag. This guy really had no reason to cause such a stir.

[mikester]

Not this guy apparently:

Pilot who refused body scan at Memphis International blasts TSA security » The Commercial Appeal

ExpressJet Airlines first officer Michael Roberts drew a line in the sand last Friday morning at Memphis International Airport security Checkpoint C.

He left the airport without boarding a flight to his duty base in Houston, refusing a full-body scan and its alternative, a manual pat-down, by Transportation Security Administration officers.

On Tuesday, Roberts, 35, was waiting to find out whether his protest would cost him his job.

"I'm not trying to throw down the gauntlet with the federal government per se," he said. "I just want to be able to go to work and not be harassed or molested without cause."

"I just kind of had to ask myself 'Where do I stand?' I'm just not comfortable being physically manhandled by a federal security agent every time I go to work."

TSA spokesman Jon Allen, citing privacy considerations, wouldn't confirm that Roberts was the person who was turned away by airport police after refusing to comply with TSA security procedures.

However, Allen said the incident was the first of its kind at Memphis since TSA began rolling out advanced imaging technology, or full- body X-ray scanners, at the airport in September.

Officials at ExpressJet, a regional airline that operates Continental Express flights out of Memphis, did not respond to multiple telephone calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Roberts said he had been going through security at Memphis without incident for 41/2 years. He said Friday was his first time at the checkpoint since new scanning equipment was installed.

TSA officials have said passengers are selected to undergo the scan at officers' discretion. If a passenger opts out of the scan, the alternative is to be frisked. Passengers still go through metal detectors if they aren't selected for the enhanced screening options, Allen said.

Roberts was wearing his pilot's uniform and identification at the time.

"For a guy like this, who is probably going through once or twice a week, who has been doing it four or five years, you'd think they would just know him and say, 'Hi, how are you?' and would just pass him through with normal screening," said Scott Erickson, a Pinnacle Airlines Inc. captain who heads Pinnacle's unit of the Air Line Pilots Association.

Erickson said his members are divided over the new screening procedures, particularly questioning whether health risks are as insignificant as TSA claims. "It's certainly not universal. Some people have the privacy concern, others don't."

The scanner produces an image of the surface of a person's body and shows metal or nonmetal items hidden beneath clothing. The image is checked by an officer who is isolated in a viewing room and has no way to personally identify the passenger.

Erickson said Memphis-based flight crew members don't have to follow the same procedures as the public.

Had Roberts been on a flight crew operating out of Memphis, he likely would have had a security clearance badge allowing him to bypass checkpoint procedures, Erickson said.

TSA experimented with an ALPA-proposed system, called CrewPASS, that would have standardized passage of airline crews through security, but the system wasn't implemented, Erickson said.

Roberts said he's not minimizing the importance of tight security to protect air travelers, but he said he doesn't believe TSA has the answer.

"I have those (security) concerns as well, but I don't believe this approach is a necessary or effective way to mitigate the threat."

He called TSA a "make-work" jobs program combined with a feel-good effort "to give us a false sense of security to let us believe the folks in Washington are keeping us safe."

[jmaxwell]

just flew last week with a scuba regulator in my carryon. I had a couple of end wrenches in the regulator bag that I use to tighten the hoses occasionally. At both my home airport and at Heathrow, they had to check with a supervisor to see if they were OK. They were. but I'm not sure what the problem would be with them. The largest was a 5/8 combo probably 8" long. Anyway, they will be in checked luggage on the way home.

[Eric 951]

TSA are complete clowns--It is the flipping burgers of airport employment. They make me sick with their attitude. Two years ago I watched in disgust as an obese TSA lady yelled at an Asian family going through Pittsburgh security because they had put their boarding passes back into their pockets after the intial "desk check". It was obvious that English was not their first language, and they all had their passports out. But Fatty Mcfatass thought volume=understanding and was yelling untill a traveler close to the family showed them the boarding pass and through hand signals indicated what they needed to do. Nice representation to foreign travelers..loud, fat, and obnoxious.

[sammyg2]

In 2002 I was in Lancaster PA (Malvern) on bidness.
I was preparing to fly home from philly airport and wanted to get some sort of souvenir for my daughter.
There was a small shop right next to the security gate so I popped in and found a small liberty bell that was a pencil sharpener. it was over-priced at $7 but I said what the heck.
It was the type where you put the pencil in and manually turn it to sharpen the pencil.

I bought it and stuck it in my carry-on bag, still in the box and bad with the receipt in it.

It got flagged and they searched me and the luggage. Full pat down, hand-held wand, K9, the whole thing.
They asked what it was, I told them and pointed to the item in the window of the shop not more than 15 feet behind them.
Now, there is no way, no way at all that this device could be used to harm someone expect maybe if I threw it at them, but he had to call his stupidvisor.
It took 5 minutes to convince them that it was safe and I was not a threat.
They tried to tell me that i could only get through security if I left it behind, prolly so one of them could snag it.
I stuck to my guns and said no way, and I might have mentioned something that could have been mis-construed as meaning that my wife was a news reporter for NBC and she was gonna have a field day with this.
She wasn't, but It might have accidentally sounded out that way

Geeez, what a bunch of imbeciles.

[MRM]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Oh... they let my wife also carry knitting needles on also.

This of the money we are wasting on this charade.

There was a big debate about knitting needles. Turns out the biggest threat is someone's grandmother knitting an Afghan on the airplane.