Palm Springs Airport Evacuated for Nothing
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2010
Location: FLL - Nice and Warm
Programs: TSA Disparager Gold
Posts: 1,025
Palm Springs Airport Evacuated for Nothing
"At approximately 5:45 a.m. PDT, Transportation Security Administration officers at Palm Springs International Airport detected a suspicious item while X-ray screening a passenger's carry-on bag. For the safety of the travelers, the terminal has been evacuated and the checkpoint is closed."
UPDATE: 10:30 a.m.: TSA has confirmed that the suspicious item was successfully destroyed, without incident.
TSA Public Affairs Manager Nico Melendez says the explosive ordnance disposal team from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department used a water cannon to "disrupt" the bag the item was in.
TSA Public Affairs Manager Nico Melendez says the explosive ordnance disposal team from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department used a water cannon to "disrupt" the bag the item was in.
However-- it's important to note that the item did not turn out to be anything bad.
"The contents of the bag were determined to be routine items that appeared suspicious on the X-ray image," Melendez said. "At approximately 10:00 a.m. the terminal, ticketing lobby and surrounding areas were given the all clear and checkpoint screening resumed."
"The contents of the bag were determined to be routine items that appeared suspicious on the X-ray image," Melendez said. "At approximately 10:00 a.m. the terminal, ticketing lobby and surrounding areas were given the all clear and checkpoint screening resumed."
1-2-3 Out of an abundance of caution.........
http://www.kpsplocal2.com/Content/Br...rRiLyDfOQ.cspx
#2
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Monterey Bay Area
Programs: Independent Libertarian
Posts: 326
Are These "Drills"??
I would like to see these "evacuations" at airports checked for how often they do them. I think they could be excuses for "drills" when the opportunity presents because some times under similar circumstances they do not evacuate. I would like to see if this is something that is being done at airports every XXX often. Any thoughts?
#3
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: BOS and vicinity
Programs: Former UA 1P
Posts: 3,725
I hope the passenger seeks legal counsel and uses every means at his disposal to extract compensation from TSA, whatever department had the robot, and the fire department.
Destruction of non-threatening non-harmful personal property out of "abundance of caution" is unacceptable.
Destruction of non-threatening non-harmful personal property out of "abundance of caution" is unacceptable.
#6
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: DCA / WAS
Programs: DL 2+ million/PM, YX, Marriott Plt, *wood gold, HHonors, CO Plt, UA, AA EXP, WN, AGR
Posts: 9,388
I hope the passenger seeks legal counsel and uses every means at his disposal to extract compensation from TSA, whatever department had the robot, and the fire department.
Destruction of non-threatening non-harmful personal property out of "abundance of caution" is unacceptable.
Destruction of non-threatening non-harmful personal property out of "abundance of caution" is unacceptable.
#7
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 364
If screeners cannot yet identify something that really is not suspicious (whatever that means), and with their wild imagination they think they see something that may go boom, why not just ask the passenger what they may have in that bag?
After the passenger explains to the screener what may appear as an item that may go boom, maybe the screener then can make sense of what they are seeing.
I also think the boys are anxious to play with all their toys that our tax dollars have bought to fight terrorism. With no real bombs ever found, the stuff just sits around collecting dust. I think they get really giddy when they have a chance to break out all the neat stuff at their disposal.
After the passenger explains to the screener what may appear as an item that may go boom, maybe the screener then can make sense of what they are seeing.
I also think the boys are anxious to play with all their toys that our tax dollars have bought to fight terrorism. With no real bombs ever found, the stuff just sits around collecting dust. I think they get really giddy when they have a chance to break out all the neat stuff at their disposal.
#8
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 3,657
The passenger will always respond with some plausible explanation of what the item is. Even in the extremely rare case where the item was, in fact, a bomb, the passenger would respond with some plausible explanation. Therefore, the passenger's response offers no useful information to the TSO.
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Programs: AA Gold AAdvantage Elite, Rapids Reward
Posts: 38,332
Yeah, that was absolutely no reason why they evacuated from the terminal. They didn't do it anything wrong. They should have checked the suspicious bags and not try to caused security breach. They should have learn some lesson to followed the rules. No more mistakes.
#10
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SLC
Posts: 392
They would probably be as confused and lost as all the other politicians in this country. (Sorry for the editorial.)
#11
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: A small town in North Georgia
Programs: DL Platinum Medallion, AA
Posts: 1,627
If screeners cannot yet identify something that really is not suspicious (whatever that means), and with their wild imagination they think they see something that may go boom, why not just ask the passenger what they may have in that bag?
After the passenger explains to the screener what may appear as an item that may go boom, maybe the screener then can make sense of what they are seeing.
After the passenger explains to the screener what may appear as an item that may go boom, maybe the screener then can make sense of what they are seeing.
#13
Moderator: Smoking Lounge; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: SFO
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A few snippets and my two hockey pucks.....
So does that mean an 8 year or 10 year TSA veteran is not qualified? Yeah, a great learning experience for everyone involved except the passenger
Was it a brown accent by any chance?
WOLF, WOLF, WOLF and my question to Mr. Melendez-if the item "did not turn out to be anything bad", would you care to post the x-ray image and/or tell us what it was?
TSA tells KPSP Local 2 they are proud of the way local agents handled Friday's scare, and credit a 9 year veteran of the agency with spotting the anomaly in the x-ray. They say this whole thing is a great learning experience for everyone involved.
A man in his early 20s was going through the checkpoint when TSA's x-ray detected something that looked highly suspicious. PSP's Nolan thinks it was extremely questionable, and says TSA took all the right precautionary measures.
TSA took the man's duffle bag and detained him for questioning. There were communication problems with the man because he had an accent, but the TSA did not tell us what kind of accent.
TSA took the man's duffle bag and detained him for questioning. There were communication problems with the man because he had an accent, but the TSA did not tell us what kind of accent.
TSA Public Affairs Manager Nico Melendez says the explosive ordnance disposal team from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department used a water cannon to "disrupt" the bag the item was in.
However-- it's important to note that the item did not turn out to be anything bad.
"The contents of the bag were determined to be routine items that appeared suspicious on the X-ray image," Melendez said. "At approximately 10:00 a.m. the terminal, ticketing lobby and surrounding areas were given the all clear and checkpoint screening resumed."
However-- it's important to note that the item did not turn out to be anything bad.
"The contents of the bag were determined to be routine items that appeared suspicious on the X-ray image," Melendez said. "At approximately 10:00 a.m. the terminal, ticketing lobby and surrounding areas were given the all clear and checkpoint screening resumed."
#14
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Baltimore, MD USA
Programs: Southwest Rapid Rewards. Tha... that's about it.
Posts: 4,332
A few snippets and my two hockey pucks.....
So does that mean an 8 year or 10 year TSA veteran is not qualified? Yeah, a great learning experience for everyone involved except the passenger
Was it a brown accent by any chance?
WOLF, WOLF, WOLF and my question to Mr. Melendez-if the item "did not turn out to be anything bad", would you care to post the x-ray image and/or tell us what it was?
So does that mean an 8 year or 10 year TSA veteran is not qualified? Yeah, a great learning experience for everyone involved except the passenger
Was it a brown accent by any chance?
WOLF, WOLF, WOLF and my question to Mr. Melendez-if the item "did not turn out to be anything bad", would you care to post the x-ray image and/or tell us what it was?
#15
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 360
I'm sure that'll be SSI. After all, if The Terrorists knew what sorts of items caused false positives that completely disrupted traffic in an airport for several hours, they'd be intentionally causing such false positives all the time - you know, hundreds per day, since there are so many Terrorists operating with impunity in the United States - and air travel as we know it would come to a screeching halt.