I didn't know TSA had legal authority to "order" an aircraft to land.
I'm hoping the press report got this wrong, and that an STSO or FSD can't just call the tower and issue legally binding air traffic control orders.
The TSA may not have the legal authority to divert a plane (I think they do), but you can bet if they call the tower and say there may be a problem on board the tower or the FAA rep does have that authority.
I can't fault the TSA for calling the plane back, I do fault them for allowing an improperly screened employee on board.
So if the TSA employee had been an Evul Turrist they could have given a weapon to another passenger - and that passenger could have passed it to a third passenger who wasn't in the sterile area until after the original flight had left - or he could have stashed a weapon somewhere in the terminal for later use.
And they didn't order a grounding of all flights that had left nor a clearance (under supervision) of the terminal.
So if the TSA employee had been an Evul Turrist they could have given a weapon to another passenger - and that passenger could have passed it to a third passenger who wasn't in the sterile area until after the original flight had left - or he could have stashed a weapon somewhere in the terminal for later use.
And they didn't order a grounding of all flights that had left nor a clearance (under supervision) of the terminal.
That is criminally negligent
Just shows how bogus they know their world is, as they continue to impose their regulations and stupid recalls on all of us.
The joys of VPS--my home airport. I hate flying from here. The Smurf Army is really twitchy and every little thing is a hassle.
This is a tiny-... airport. Seriously, I think after the "expansion" we have 6 gates. How the HELL does the plane take off and THEN they realize someone didn't get screened? There's something more to this than meets the eye.
__________________
I regret that I am allowed but one Ziploc to deface for my country.
Kip Hawley is still an idiot.
I know this is so because I clearly recall a thread from many months ago were we we discussing the stupidity of a screening program that did not screen airport and TSA employees when they entered the "sterile zone". On that thread several TSA employees who post here repeatedly assured us that TSA employees get the same screening as everyone else when they fly, therefore the practice of exempting TSA employees from screening cannot have posed any security loophole whatsoever! (/sarcasm)
