to what I am interested to knw as a huge checked traveller:whats about the crews?should they p.e. take their shoes off?whats the rules there?
whats your experience?

Yes, the flight crews do take off their shoes.

Isnt that iditotic. I assmue crew mean pilots, and they have access to the flightdeck already so theres really nothing to hide in their shoes.

Many crews have SIDA access at their home airport and go through no screening.

Crew members would only have SIDA badges for there home airports and I still think they need to go through screening but I am not sure.

bypassing screening using a SIDA badge, then entering an aircraft is a violation of federal law and is very closely monitored. If a pilots SIDA badge is found to have been scanned before a flight, they'll be suspended and investigated to see if they did go through screening.

Everyone getting on an aircraft does go through the TSA checkpoint.

With respect, I believe this is incorrect. For example, the wheelchair people (those people who push the wheelchairs) get on planes all the time and I've seen them walk through the SIDA doors.

As for flight crews, you're more up on that than I am so I will take your word for that, although I would say that I have seen FAs and pilots go through, so the only measure stopping them is their own volition. But, as you say, the penalties are stiff as well, so I guess it all washes out in the end.

Except for those wheelchair, etc. people. I'm pretty sure they don't have extensive background checks done on them.

I'll correct what I said. Bypassing SIDA, then getting onto a plane and flying away from the airport violates federal law.
were they going through an employee security checkpoint, or a SIDA no-check at all point? If they went through a SIDA door, thats a huge risk to take.
They do. If they have a SIDA badge, and can bypass security, they have an extensive background check done. There are multiple levels of security badges issued at airports. Some let you get into the secure area, but you can't bypass security, nor go out onto the ramp. Thats what the people at the stores on the concourses have. A friend of mine worked at a Bose store and he had to go through a light check. Felony/warrant check, but no fingerprints, as he couldn't bypass security.

Got you.

It was a SIDA foor, but they may have been on call or doing some other business. I can't say they went on any plane. Given what you said, probably not. Just noting what I saw.

Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by extensive. I'm talking about interviewing neighbors, if they are from foreign countries doing record checks there, criminal history in both national and local,etc. THAT is an extensive background. Wants and warrants is only a piece of it.

Yes. Wants and warrants are done on people who don't have access to the ramp/aircraft. If Bob works at the flower stand in the concourse, since he can't bypass the metal detectors and x-ray, they don't do as extensive of a check. For full SIDA, its fingerprints/FBI/FAA/TSA checks. Do they interview neighbors? no. Its not that high of a clearance. They do verification going back at least 10 years, and they do check all the places they have lived.

My point is that most the 9/11 crew would have passed that kind of background check. A FBI check is an NCIC check, which is just criminal history, not like a background that a real clearance, secret or top secret, gets, and the FBI check is the most invasive of all the ones you listed.

How do they check the places they lived?

I've had afew background checks for various jobs I've had. Some are very invasive, some aren't. I'm assuming the SIDA check, even pre-9/11, that allowed you to bypass security has always been pretty invasive. I have afew friends that work on the ramp in MSP and they had to be finger printed, interviewed, and a 10 year check was done on them. They had to provide the addresses for the last 10 years, and records were pulled from all those counties. Was anymore done? He was never told. That's probably part of the security of the security check.
I'm assuming they'd probably hit your credit report for some of that, or possibly the IRS for addresses from your tax return. I'm sure when they request the records from the counties that they must do some sort of check on that level to verify its a real address and if a record was found, that would show they did live there.

I doubt you can get any major details on how it works. Specifics of airport/airline security measures are, more than likely, confidential information.

Maybe a crew member can respond on this SIDA thing, but I know crew members here have SIDA badges & I THINK they can by pass the check points.
I have a "full" SIDA id & we just in the past few months were required to re qualify. Had to fill out quite a few pages & yes we were finger printed.

That's nice, but do you think this is actually followed in practice? If the security people recognize the crew...

Just last Friday I was going through security. A crew member was ahead of me and put a large water bottle re-filled with some red liquid (cranberry juice?) in a tray and sent it through the xray. No problem.

What do you think would happen if I tried to go through security with a large water bottle full of an unidentified red liquid?

I believe crews are exempt from the freedom baggie rule....