Originally Posted by
jkhuggins
Yes, a pilot can crash his own aircraft, so there's nothing gained regarding the security of his flights. But the pilot could also be carrying contraband (knowingly or unknowingly; willingly or unwillingly) through the checkpoint which could be passed on to a third party inside the sterile area, thereby presenting a threat to some other flight.
[...]
If you don't physically screen everyone who enters the sterile area, every time --- including TSOs, vendors, pilots, maintenance workers, and custodians --- then you have a built-in mechanism to introduce "contraband" (however you want to define it) into the secure area. Of course, TSA already declines to physically screen most of those I've named.
Either screen everybody, or don't bother screening anybody.
Originally Posted by
Boggie Dog
A couple of points.
Would the pilot be unaware of contraband directly on his person?
Depends on what you mean by "directly on his person". Someone sews a knife into the lining of a pilot's jacket, or hides a wad of explosive gel in the lining of a pilot's hat. It gets a little trickier if you want to talk about clothing layers being worn directly, but it's not impossible. (Keep in mind that we're talking about events as rare as ... well, as a terrorist incident aboard an aircraft, which is pretty darn rare ...)
Originally Posted by
Boggie Dog
If TSA neglects to screen everyone, as you pointed out, then why is it important to screen anyone else?
I'm in agreement with you on that one. As I said: screen everybody, or don't bother with screening at all.