petaluma1

petaluma1

petaluma1

Loren Pechtel

If they didn't know it was just a battery exploding rescreening makes sense.

DCP2016

Are any of us really surprised by their behavior?

aquamarinesteph

The first thing I saw on Twitter were reports from a verified account of an active shooter. THEN maybe 20-30 minutes later, there was a notice from the Orlando police that there was no active shooter; rather, people had been 'scared' of a loud noise. There was no mention in much of Twitterland about a battery exploding or anyone being rescreened.

petaluma1

FliesWay2Much

I wonder if they tried to do "reverse screening" of passengers on aircraft that had already taken off?

petaluma1

I can't find any reports of that happening but the re-screening of passengers from planes recalled and those in the terminal consisted of just walking through WTMD - at least from what I am reading - after a dog had swept the termial.

What is beyond me is that they KNEW it was a camera battery, why recall planes and rescreen passengers already boarded. Is it because TSA's failures at MCO were so high that they had no confidence that those already screened were, indeed, clear?

Also TSA screeners running and pushing passengers out of the way certainly does give the lie to these people being "officers" - a real officer would stay and help civilians.

Boggie Dog

Highlighting above mine.


You stated the answer to your own question.

TSA's effort to con people into respecting TSA screeners is a failure, just like TSA.

chollie

IIRC, TSA trains its employees to protect themselves in time of crisis. Dealing with pax is not part of their job description - that is the responsibility of airport employees and police.

Unfortunately, any time you have a crisis and there are people in uniform, ordinary citizens assume the folks in uniform have a clue what is going on. I don't think that's misplaced confidence. In my company, we regularly have employee evacuation drills - and they are taken very seriously. Part of the training for the drills involves designated leaders (and backups, and backups for the backups) who are responsible for directing any non-company employees on the premises during a crisis.

In a grade school, everyone looks to the teachers and staff for guidance. In a church, folks look to the pastor and ushers. In a McDonald's, you assume the folks in company uniform are the most knowledgeable about what is going on, where the exits are, etc. In a hospital, you assume anyone in scrubs will have the best advice in a crisis/evacuation situation.

Not to bash TSA, but I am not aware of another organization like it, government or civilian. It deliberately dresses its employees up in LE-like uniforms, it calls them 'officers', and it directs all pax to comply with any and all orders issued by anyone in a TSA uniform at all times, no questions allowed.

Except in times of crisis. Right.

aquamarinesteph

Thanks for the photos! I see that now, but my point was that at the time of the incident, there was little info from verified accounts other than 'active shooter' at the airport. Someone who didn't know enough to LOOK for more info would have been left thinking that there was an incident in progress.

RatherBeOnATrain

The Atlanta newspaper reported that the "gunshots" were actually queuing stanchions being knocked over:I accept that stanchions falling onto a concrete floor could easily be perceived to be gunshots, but I'm having a much harder time accepting that the noise from a dropped roller bags could be perceived as a gunshot. Have any FTers ever confused the sound of dropping a roller bag with the sound of a gunshot?

Another interesting detail:Link to full article: AJC.com - Army veteran TSA agent runs exploding battery away from passengers Orlando airport (7:18 a.m. Monday, Nov. 13, 2017)

T-the-B

I suspect that many, if not most, of those who were perceiving various noises to be gunshots have never actually heard gunshots. In a panic situation many people could think any sharp, loud noise to be a gunshot.

petaluma1

Not many stanchions being knocked over or roller bags being dropped in this video. Of course, who knows what happened in other lines.

http://www.wftv.com/news/local/watch...-oia/645873118