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Originally Posted by fandresva
I will have done the same thing, you never know what is in the bottle... on that note I have no idea what TSA really looks for, more than once I have forgotten about my cigar cutter in my computer bag and it has never been an issue.
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Originally Posted by thyeri
(Post 16113759)
In France journalists successfully boarded domestic flights with guns in their bag 9 times out of 10 tries! The gun was disassembled and the security guy did not notice that there was a gun...
Twice, a security guy checked the bag, but did not notice there was a gun in several parts... Security at the airport is just meant to make the people feel safe. The truth is that security at the airport never helped against real terrorists... |
Originally Posted by HSVTSO Dean
(Post 16114127)
That would be because cigar cutters are not prohibited items.
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Originally Posted by HSVTSO Dean
(Post 16114127)
That would be because cigar cutters are not prohibited items.
I am amazed that one can legally carry aboard an item that could probably be used as an instrument of torture (i.e., in order to slice off the end of a finger, or a very small, flaccid willy perhaps), but that one has to place a laser printed false label on a 3.5 fl.oz of anti-perspirant in order to travel with it. |
Originally Posted by fandresva
(Post 16114180)
That is good to know
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Originally Posted by mad1
(Post 16111429)
I'm in YYZ, taking a flight to europe. saw a guy in the security line in front of me. He slipped a shoeshine bottle into his back pocket, walked thru the metal detector, and then put it back in his backpack. smooth.
I freaked a bit and snitched on him - ............................... What do you guys think? Was this the right thing to do? Do you think your actions had any impact of your or any other persons safety? |
Originally Posted by CDTraveler
(Post 16112475)
I'd be interested in knowing how folks would respond to the OP if what he saw a blade of some sort (knife, box cutter, etc.) rather than a bottle.
Would you still assume the pax was harmless and just protecting his own property, i.e. the blade, from confiscation? What if you'd seen the BP and knew this person was on your flight? Would you respond differently? I would hope that each person takes the time to think through what air travel security really means now, and by that I definitely don't mean the TSA. If I saw his BP was for my flight, I'd groan and cheer at the same time. After all, if he's on my flight, that means the flight is more crowded than it would have been if he hadn't shown up at the airport. However, it might mean a nice VDB payout at the gate. But my reaction to the blade wouldn't change. Air travel security today means hardened flight decks and no tour of the cockpit for my kids. It means passengers don't comply with hijacking attempts. Since you're excluding my thoughts on the TSA, I won't discuss their utility (or lack thereof). It means that we use methods that ensure profit while minimizing efficacy on the "front lines," while abusing and frustrating the truly effective "last line." |
Originally Posted by PhoenixRev
(Post 16111624)
Thank goodness you weren't behind me a couple of months ago when I slipped a large plastic tube of toothpaste in my back pocket and walked through the WTMD to avoid having it confiscated.
:eek: |
Not a good move.
Today's pocket-smuggler is the spiritual grandchild of the 'shiner running corn liquor across the line in the trunk of his '48 Ford at midnight to avoid the excise man. A little bit of freedom dies every time the TSA seizes your toothpaste, shoe polish, and mouthwash. |
Originally Posted by chollie
(Post 16112512)
Would you be concerned enough to stay aside and give your name and details and hang around as a 'material witness', possibly missing your own flight while the offending pax was located and dealt with? After all, it is only fair to keep you around until the pax is either nailed or cleared - otherwise, what is to stop pranksters or disgruntled people from making false reports just for amusement or hassle.
Of course, if you are genuinely concerned about your safety, then such a minor inconvenience should be a small price to pay. I believe there was an ugly incident in Toronto last year where a guy on a flight bound for Pakistan was detained after the flight was diverted to Stockholm. He was removed and stranded in Stockholm. It turns out that a woman caller reported he had a bomb. Last I knew, police suspected it had all been a hoax, possibly because the woman thought he was going to Pakistan to wed. +1 |
Originally Posted by mad1
(Post 16111429)
I'm in YYZ, taking a flight to europe. saw a guy in the security line in front of me. He slipped a shoeshine bottle into his back pocket, walked thru the metal detector, and then put it back in his backpack. smooth.
I freaked a bit and snitched on him - i.e. I pointed him and his shoeshine bottle out to the security guys manning the checkpoint. They just looked at it from afar and said it's ok, no worries. the guy noticed that i'd pointed this out and said ok good job or smth else to me. I said it's nothing personal. I hope he's not sitting next to me on the flight, that'll be awkward. I feel bad, cuz I didn't want to get him in trouble on the one hand. But on the other hand, this did look a bit suspicious to me. I guess he was just trying to get the shoeshine through security even though it looked like it was over 100ml. I also feel weird cuz I don't even agree with the 100ml limit and a bunch of other security theater we are put through. Yet here I am snitching on this most likely completely harmless guy....... What do you guys think? Was this the right thing to do? Only reason it's not a 10/10 is that I can empathize (slightly) with the portion of the flying public that is so scared/conditioned by the TSA/Private Profiteering Complex into thinking that any of this actually increases security that I am holding out hope for the 10% chance that you may have thought you were doing something helpful. In reality, though, you weren't. Shoeshine bottles are normally pretty small, it almost certainly met the liquids criteria to get through. TSA are a bunch of goons, it's likely that he just didn't want TSA breaking the bottle inside his backpack where it would ruin everything else inside, when they inevitably manhandle his things. |
Originally Posted by chollie
(Post 16112512)
Would you be concerned enough to stay aside and give your name and details and hang around as a 'material witness', possibly missing your own flight while the offending pax was located and dealt with? After all, it is only fair to keep you around until the pax is either nailed or cleared - otherwise, what is to stop pranksters or disgruntled people from making false reports just for amusement or hassle.
Of course, if you are genuinely concerned about your safety, then such a minor inconvenience should be a small price to pay. I believe there was an ugly incident in Toronto last year where a guy on a flight bound for Pakistan was detained after the flight was diverted to Stockholm. He was removed and stranded in Stockholm. It turns out that a woman caller reported he had a bomb. Last I knew, police suspected it had all been a hoax, possibly because the woman thought he was going to Pakistan to wed. An anonymous phone call is hardly in the same category as saying "That man right there has concealed a bottle of liquid on his person." The onsite staff, be they TSA, CATSA or LEO's, can immediately check the truthfulness of your report, no dump or diversion necessary. People in this forum keep screaming for "real security" and many cite the Israeli model of behavioral observation as being more effective security, yet when there is an example of clearly suspicious behavior - attempting to conceal a container of an unknown substance prior to security, the response is overwhelming MYOB. And for the record, RadioGirl, my concern in not just bringing down air craft, but for the lives of all those on board. You state a knife won't bring down the air craft, and I agree, but it could be used to kill those on board. Is there no longer any respect for the safety of individual pax, do people now just care about bringing down the bird? |
Originally Posted by CDTraveler
(Post 16116365)
Your reply is utterly apples and oranges.
An anonymous phone call is hardly in the same category as saying "That man right there has concealed a bottle of liquid on his person." The onsite staff, be they TSA, CATSA or LEO's, can immediately check the truthfulness of your report, no dump or diversion necessary. People in this forum keep screaming for "real security" and many cite the Israeli model of behavioral observation as being more effective security, yet when there is an example of clearly suspicious behavior - attempting to conceal a container of an unknown substance prior to security, the response is overwhelming MYOB. And for the record, RadioGirl, my concern in not just bringing down air craft, but for the lives of all those on board. You state a knife won't bring down the air craft, and I agree, but it could be used to kill those on board. Is there no longer any respect for the safety of individual pax, do people now just care about bringing down the bird? |
Originally Posted by jtodd
(Post 16116447)
I don't know, why don't you ask the tsa and/or FAA, they're the ones irradiating pax, removing oxygen masks from aircraft, and creating thousands of new vectors to disseminate any number of bacteria and viruses. If personal safety is a concern, the person with the knife or scissors are just as dangerous pre-security as post. Maybe we all should be scanned and assaulted when we leave our homes in the morning so that everybody feels totally safe everywhere.
Why is it any attempt to discuss aspects of security other than the TSA rapidly degenerates into an anti-TSA rant? I thought the point of this thread was whether or not one should report what is clearly a suspect action - deliberately concealing an unknown substance from the screening process. You want to rant about the NoS, take it away! |
Originally Posted by mad1
(Post 16111429)
What do you guys think? Was this the right thing to do?
Just let it go... I don't mean to be rude, but why did you stick your nose into something that was none of your business? Are you going to snitch on me when I keep my wallet in my back pocket, as opposed to putting it through the x-ray (clerk theft machine)? |
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