Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Travel&Dining > Travel Safety/Security > Checkpoints and Borders Policy Debate
Reload this Page >

passenger flew from LAX to Taipei with loaded Ruger with 6 bullets in her backpack

passenger flew from LAX to Taipei with loaded Ruger with 6 bullets in her backpack

Old Apr 21, 2017, 11:36 am
  #46  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: where the chile is hot
Programs: AA,RR,NW,Delta ,UA,CO
Posts: 41,229
Originally Posted by CDTraveler
I really hope that's sarcasm.

No, I don't think anyone is entitled to make mistakes with deadly weapons. If you chose to own a gun, you should be held responsible for it, and that includes knowing where it it at all times and not taking into onto a plane and then to a country where it is prohibited.

Would you expect a country with strict drug laws to give her a pass if she brought along some marijuana? After all, that's legal in California now.
Yes, I am being sarcastic, but I don't think our government should punish her while letting a FAM who left her weapon unattended in an airplane bathroom off with a wrist slap.

If we have a zero tolerance policy for ordinary citizens who 'forget' they have a weapon with them, then we should be at least as unforgiving towards armed government employees who 'forget' where their weapon is while on duty.

I have no idea what Taiwan will do. As I posted earlier, if I land in the US with something contraband (a banana, for example) and I immediately declare it, it will get confiscated but I won't be otherwise penalized. It isn't clear to me where Taiwan or the US draw the line and decide that somethings land you in jail, even if you declare them.

A similar example: sudafed is illegal in Japan. I didn't know that when I went there. If I landed with my ever-present sudafed tabs, realized they were illegal and immediately declared them, I don't know if Japan would arrest me or just treat me the same way they would have if I'd declared that I had some uneaten sashimi and fresh vegetables in my bag.
chollie is offline  
Old Apr 21, 2017, 2:57 pm
  #47  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 4,723
Originally Posted by chollie
Yes, I am being sarcastic, but I don't think our government should punish her while letting a FAM who left her weapon unattended in an airplane bathroom off with a wrist slap.
Apples and oranges. This is about a sovereign foreign power enforcing their laws in their country. What the U.S. government does about FAM has no connection to the woman who took a loaded gun to Taiwan.

Originally Posted by chollie
If we have a zero tolerance policy for ordinary citizens who 'forget' they have a weapon with them, then we should be at least as unforgiving towards armed government employees who 'forget' where their weapon is while on duty.
Pretty sure I said that several pages back.

Originally Posted by chollie
I have no idea what Taiwan will do. As I posted earlier, if I land in the US with something contraband (a banana, for example) and I immediately declare it, it will get confiscated but I won't be otherwise penalized. It isn't clear to me where Taiwan or the US draw the line and decide that somethings land you in jail, even if you declare them.
It isn't illegal to own a banana in the U.S, it's just illegal to import one without the appropriate inspection and permit. It is illegal for private citizens to have guns in Taiwan, which is probably why the woman has been detained while government officials (U.S. & Taiwan) negotiate about what to do with her. The last article I saw made it look like criminal charges are likely.

Originally Posted by chollie
A similar example: sudafed is illegal in Japan. I didn't know that when I went there. If I landed with my ever-present sudafed tabs, realized they were illegal and immediately declared them, I don't know if Japan would arrest me or just treat me the same way they would have if I'd declared that I had some uneaten sashimi and fresh vegetables in my bag.
Again, apples and oranges. You can't point a sudafed at someone, pull the trigger and kill them. However if you had enough sudafed with you that you could be considered a "dealer" then there is a strong chance of prison time.
CDTraveler is offline  
Old Jan 13, 2019, 9:23 am
  #48  
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,474
Happened again, this time on a flight to Japan.
American woman brings pistol and bullets onto U.S.-Japan flight

An American woman who was found to be in possession of a pistol and bullets on a flight from Atlanta to Narita airport near Tokyo last week was denied entry to Japan, airport sources said Friday.

The woman, believed to be in her 30s, told Delta Air Lines crew during the flight that she had mistakenly brought the handgun and ammunition with her onto the plane, despite passing through security inspection at the southern U.S. airport, the sources said.

The cabin crew took the handgun from the woman until the planes arrival on the afternoon of Jan. 3, the sources said, adding that she apparently owned it for self-defense.

***
TWA884 is offline  
Old Jan 13, 2019, 9:50 am
  #49  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 3,526
Originally Posted by TWA884
Happened again, this time on a flight to Japan.
Japan's transport ministry has asked the United States to step up airport security inspections after a passenger accidentally took a loaded handgun onto a flight to Narita, outside Tokyo.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190111_33/
petaluma1 is offline  
Old Jan 13, 2019, 9:53 am
  #50  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: DFW
Posts: 28,010
Sweet, another country able to say that TSA ain't all that!
FliesWay2Much likes this.
Boggie Dog is offline  
Old Jan 13, 2019, 10:08 am
  #51  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: where the chile is hot
Programs: AA,RR,NW,Delta ,UA,CO
Posts: 41,229
Originally Posted by Boggie Dog
Sweet, another country able to say that TSA ain't all that!
Hey! Let's be fair - it's not like TSA missed something serious and she landed with (gasp!) a bottle of water or a deadly grabber toy.
Spiff and FliesWay2Much like this.
chollie is offline  
Old Jan 13, 2019, 12:38 pm
  #52  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: An NPR mind living in a Fox News world
Posts: 14,153
I guess we'll never know why she chose to notify the FAs during the flight. I've not been through Japanese customs & immigration so I don't know how at risk she was of being caught with the gun when entering Japan. If it's anything like Europe, I would have taken my chances and made sure the weapon and ammo disappeared permanently before I flew back home. Getting rid of the pistol would have been harder because I assume it has a serial number engraved on it. For sure, I wouldn't have tried to bring it back home.

More fundamentally, I can not understand, for the life of me, how a gun owner "forgets" they have their gun(s) in a piece of luggage or anywhere else other than a gun safe or other secure storage.
roadtriper likes this.
FliesWay2Much is offline  
Old Jan 13, 2019, 3:22 pm
  #53  
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,474
Originally Posted by FliesWay2Much
I can not understand, for the life of me, how a gun owner "forgets" they have their gun(s) in a piece of luggage or anywhere else other than a gun safe or other secure storage.
+1
TWA884 is offline  
Old Jan 13, 2019, 4:19 pm
  #54  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Bye Delta
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Plat, Nat'l Exec Elite, Avis Presidents Club
Posts: 16,247
TSA continues to prove how useless they really are. Only when incidents like this occur, theres no burying it, unlike the red team tests.
javabytes is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2019, 2:15 am
  #55  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Pittsburgh
Programs: MR/SPG LT Titanium, AA LT PLT, UA SLV, Avis PreferredPlus
Posts: 30,956
Fortunately, TSA has assured us that it was not reduced staffing due to the government shutdown that caused this security breach.

"The perception that this might have occurred as a result of the partial government shutdown would be false," TSA said.

"Security standards will NOT and have NOT been compromised," said Michael Bilello, TSA assistant administrator for public affairs,
I.e., everything is up to TSA standards. This is just their normal, everyday, typical level of utter and complete failure.
petaluma1 and javabytes like this.
CPRich is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2019, 7:46 am
  #56  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: ATL Lost Luggage
Programs: Kettle with Kryptonium Medallion Tags
Posts: 10,209
TSA said the checkpoint was fully staffed at the time

From the Atlanta newspaper:
TSA acknowledged that a passenger did in fact pass through a standard screening TSA checkpoint with a firearm at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on January 2. TSA will hold those responsible appropriately accountable.

The incident happened amid the partial federal shutdown that has left TSA officers working without pay since Dec. 22.

TSA said the checkpoint was fully staffed at the time, and said the rate of unscheduled absences that day, at 5 percent, was the same as a year ago.
Link: AJC.com - UPDATE: Gun passes through Hartsfield-Jackson security checkpoint undetected
RatherBeOnATrain is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2019, 9:28 am
  #57  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: DFW
Posts: 28,010
Originally Posted by RatherBeOnATrain
If that's the case shouldn't all screeners, unless they can identify the at fault screener, working that checkpoint at the time be disqualified until retrained?

Last edited by Boggie Dog; Jan 14, 2019 at 9:53 am
Boggie Dog is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2019, 9:32 am
  #58  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: where the chile is hot
Programs: AA,RR,NW,Delta ,UA,CO
Posts: 41,229
We'll never know, but it would be interesting to know what the camera footage shows.
chollie is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2019, 10:11 am
  #59  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 4,747
Originally Posted by RatherBeOnATrain
Yes, fully staffed by people worrying about how they'll afford lunch. Shutdown had zero impact...
JoeBas is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2019, 12:33 pm
  #60  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,103
.... and yet various airports in Europe are willing to skip rescreening of US-originating passengers transiting because they have bought into the notion that US screening measures are of such nature that US-screened passengers should get a pass unlike most other countries screened passengers.
GUWonder is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.