passenger flew from LAX to Taipei with loaded Ruger with 6 bullets in her backpack
#46
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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.
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.
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.
#47
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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.
#48
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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.
***
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.
***
#49
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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.
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#51
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#52
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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.
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.
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#54
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TSA continues to prove how useless they really are. Only when incidents like this occur, theres no burying it, unlike the red team tests.
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Fortunately, TSA has assured us that it was not reduced staffing due to the government shutdown that caused this security breach.
I.e., everything is up to TSA standards. This is just their normal, everyday, typical level of utter and complete failure.
"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,
"Security standards will NOT and have NOT been compromised," said Michael Bilello, TSA assistant administrator for public affairs,
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TSA said the checkpoint was fully staffed at the time
From the Atlanta newspaper:
Link: AJC.com - UPDATE: Gun passes through Hartsfield-Jackson security checkpoint undetected
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.
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.
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From the Atlanta newspaper:
Link: AJC.com - UPDATE: Gun passes through Hartsfield-Jackson security checkpoint undetected
Link: AJC.com - UPDATE: Gun passes through Hartsfield-Jackson security checkpoint undetected
Last edited by Boggie Dog; Jan 14, 2019 at 9:53 am
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From the Atlanta newspaper:
Link: AJC.com - UPDATE: Gun passes through Hartsfield-Jackson security checkpoint undetected
Link: AJC.com - UPDATE: Gun passes through Hartsfield-Jackson security checkpoint undetected
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.... 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.