TSA Week in Review: Simulated Detonating Cord, Simulated Sheet Explosives, and Two 3.5 Ounce Cans of Propane Discovered at Norfolk

Improvised Explosive Device Training Aids Discovered at Two Airports – These weren’t tests on TSA, these were non-TSA instructors who thought it was OK to place these items in their checked baggage. As I’ve said before, we’re all too familiar with instructors and other people in this type of business needing these sorts of items for their jobs. As with all inert training items and replicas, we don’t know they’re not real until we’ve gone through all the motions. This can include evacuated baggage areas and closed checkpoints which lead to delays and missed flights. People that need to travel with INERT items should plan ahead and contact their preferred shipper about mailing the training aids to their destination.

• A passenger at Norfolk (ORF) had simulated detonating cord, simulated sheet explosives, and two 3.5 ounce cans of propane in his checked bag.
• A passenger at Carlsbad (CLD) was traveling with inert training materials in their bag.

Stun Guns –7 stun guns were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints around the nation at: El Paso (ELP), Milwaukee (MKE), San Francisco (SFO), Lawton (LAW), Cleveland (CLE), Atlanta (ATL), and Harrisburg (MDT).

Six Bladed Star of Death – A throwing start with six folding knife blades (see photo) was discovered at Los Angeles (LAX).

 

Grinding Grenade – Grenades are supposed to explode, but this one grinds! A novelty tobacco grinding grenade was discovered at San Diego (SAN). Read here and here on why inert items cause problems at checkpoints. We don’t know they’re inert until we check them out and checking them out can often inconvenience you and your fellow passengers.

Fireworks are Prohibited – As you can see from the image, this passenger at New York Kennedy (JFK) went a little above and beyond. Just as fireworks do I suppose?

Items in the Strangest Places – It’s one thing to forget you had a prohibited item in your bag, but when you intentionally try to sneak it past us, you could wind up being cited or even arrested by law enforcement. Here are a few examples from this week where passengers tried to sneak items past our Officers.

• A folding knife was discovered concealed in an aspirin bottle at Minneapolis (MSP).
• A knife was found concealed in a belt buckle at San Jose (SJC).
• Marijuana was found concealed in a flashlight in checked baggage at Jacksonville (JAX). We’re not looking for drugs, but you can probably imagine that marijuana in a flashlight would look odd on the monitor.
• A 13” knife was found concealed under the lining of a carry-on bag at Sarasota (SRQ).
• A small knife was detected concealed inside the lining of an empty knapsack in the carry-on bag of a Tampa (TPA) passenger. 

People Say the Darndest Things – Here is an example of what not to say at the airport. Statements like these not only delay the people who said them but can also inconvenience lots of other passengers if the checkpoint or terminal has to be evacuated:

• A passenger at New Orleans (MSY) said the following to an airline gate agent: “I will get on a flight even if I have to blow up the airport and call myself a terrorist.” 

Body Scanner Discoveries This Week – There were a total of 12 illegal and prohibited items discovered this week with the body scanners at: Ontario (ONT), Los Angeles (LAX), Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) , 2 at Hilo (ITO), 3 at San Francisco (SFO), 2 at Reno (RNO), St. Thomas (STT), and Des Moines (DSM). Items were found in hands, pockets, and concealed in the groin area. Among the items was a folding knife that a passenger surrendered prior to the pat-down after alarming the body scanner.

Put That in Your Pipe and Smoke It – Officers at Las Vegas (LAS) found several boxes of snappers in a carry-on bag along with a glass pipe.

 Miscellaneous Prohibited Items - In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our Officers also found firearm components, realistic replica firearms, stun guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons, and a lot of sharp pointy things.

Firearms - Here are the firearms our Officers found in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday.

You can travel with your firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline. You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should familiarize themselves with state and local firearm laws for each point of travel prior to departure. 

Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.

Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team

If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us by clicking here.

Alleged Mistreatment of Passenger who is Deaf at Louisville

Following a National Association of the Deaf (NAD) conference, a passenger who is deaf traveled through Louisville (SDF) and posted a blog about his alleged experience at the SDF checkpoint and issues with his airline. While the passenger has since removed the post, he said that he was mistreated by Transportation Security Officers who he claimed had ridiculed him for being deaf.

TSA takes allegations of misconduct seriously. Immediately following a complaint by the passenger, TSA launched an investigation into the alleged incident, which included a review of more than 120 hours of CCTV footage from a three-day period to look for any scenes that matched the information in the blog post.  A close examination of the video during this timeframe indicates that officers working the checkpoint were professional and appropriate with all passengers.

Here are the facts:

TSA has zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind.

When TSA found out the NAD conference was coming to Louisville, TSA reached out to NAD and other members of its disability coalition while Transportation Security Officers at SDF received additional training on screening deaf passengers from local experts in the field.

SDF is a smaller airport with only one checkpoint, which is monitored by security cameras. Our officers are aware that screening operations are constantly under video surveillance.

After a review of the video, TSA found no footage that matches the information in the blog post, such as Officers removing food during any bag search and eating it, or anything to indicate that they were pointing at and ridiculing a passenger.

In general, candy is not a prohibited item, and would only warrant additional screening if it alarmed. TSA does not donate surrendered food and drink items for health and safety reasons.

TSA works regularly with a broad coalition of disability and medical condition advocacy groups to help understand their needs and adapt screening procedures accordingly. Any passengers with disabilities who have questions or concerns prior to their travel they can contact the TSA Cares Helpline: 1-855-787-2227 (The line is open 8-11 M-F and 9-8 weekends and holidays. After hours, travelers can find information about traveling with disabilities and medical needs on TSA’s website. To learn more click here.)

If a passenger has a problem at a checkpoint, or is displeased with their checkpoint experience, we strongly recommend that they call a supervisor immediately or file a complaint with our contact center as soon as possible after the experience. (TSA Contact Center, 1-866-289-9673 or TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov) 

Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team 

If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us by clicking here.

 

TSA Pre✓™ Expands to Charlotte and Tampa

Charlotte (CLT) - TSA Pre✓™ is now available for select US Airways frequent flyers and  CBP Trusted Traveler members at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are also operational at CLT.

Tampa (TPA) - Also, TSA Pre✓™ operations for select US Airways frequent flyers and  CBP Trusted Traveler members are live at TPA.

Did you know that kids 12 and under can travel with you through the TSA Pre✓™ lane? If you didn't, now you know! That info might come in handy this summer.

In case you're wondering what TSA Pre✓™ is, you can go here to read all about it. Long story short, it's an initiative that allows passengers to expedite their screening experience if they opt in. How do you opt in to TSA Pre✓™? Funny you should ask. Just go here. 

Here are some other TSA Pre✓™ posts that might interest you:

• TSA Pre✓™ Through Global Entry: One Sweet Deal!
• The Scoop on TSA Pre✓™
• More Than 1 Million Passengers Screened by TSA Pre✓™
• TSA Pre✓™ Pilot to Expand to 28 of the Busiest US Airports 

 

Blogger Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team 

If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us by clicking here.

 

TSA Week in Review: Grenades Galore

Due the holiday, this Week in Review covers June 28^th through June 5^th. 

 

Grenades Galore – In case you haven’t heard, grenades and planes do not mix. Inert grenades were discovered at DSM, SEA, TPA, and BNA. Two live smoke grenades were discovered at DEN. Read here and here on why inert items cause problems at checkpoints. We don’t know they’re inert until we check them out and checking them out can often inconvenience your fellow passengers.

 

Stun Guns – 11 stun guns/devices were discovered in carry-on bags at checkpoints around the nation at: ORD, OGG, SMF, RIC, JAX, LGA, FLL & DEN. Among these items were a stun pen at Ketchikan (KTN) and a stun cane at McGhee - Tyson (TYS). Yes, a stun cane! That’s a first for the Week in Review posts… 

 Items in the Strangest Places - It’s one thing to forget you had a prohibited item in your bag, but when you intentionally try to sneak it past us, you could wind up being cited or even arrested by law enforcement. Here are a few examples from this week where passengers tried to sneak items past our Officers.

• A razor knife was discovered in the seat of a wheelchair at Salt Lake City (SLC).

• A 4” knife was discovered concealed inside a comb at Baltimore (BWI).

• A 3 ½” knife was found concealed in the lining of a bag at LaGuardia (LGA).

Kids Pack the Darndest Things – Even though a 9-year-old’s grandmother packed their bag, the child went in later and added 6 ground bloom fireworks. I can see why they wanted them. My 9-year-old self probably would have packed them too. These fireworks were discovered at Milwaukee (MKE).

 

Automotive Flares: Keyword “automotive.” Not only are automotive flares prohibited on aircraft, the look a little creepy due to their resemblance to dynamite sticks. Two of them were discovered at Phoenix (PHX) in a passenger’s carry-on bag.

Body Scanner Discoveries This Week – There were a total of 18 illegal items discovered this week with the body scanners at: ITO, ATW, JAX, PIE, 2 at ATL, ABQ, TPA, 2 at SMF, LAX, SFO, CLE, SEA, MSY, PDX, MDW, and LAS. Items were found in hands, pockets, and concealed in the groin area.

Miscellaneous Prohibited Items - In addition to all of the other prohibited items we find weekly, our Officers also found firearm components, realistic replica firearms, stun guns, brass knuckles, ammunition, batons, and a lot of bladed items.

Firearms - Here are the firearms our Officers found in carry-on baggage since I posted last Friday.

You can travel with your firearms in checked baggage, but they must first be declared to the airline. You can go here for more details on how to properly travel with your firearms. Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. Travelers should familiarize themselves with state and local firearm laws for each point of travel prior to departure. 

Unfortunately these sorts of occurrences are all too frequent which is why we talk about these finds. Sure, it’s great to share the things that our officers are finding, but at the same time, each time we find a dangerous item, the throughput is slowed down and a passenger that likely had no ill intent ends up with a citation or in some cases is even arrested. This is a friendly reminder to please leave these items at home. Just because we find a prohibited item on an individual does not mean they had bad intentions, that's for the law enforcement officer to decide. In many cases, people simply forgot they had these items.

Blogger Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team

If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us by clicking here.

Random Testing of Liquids at Departure Gates. Nothing new...

While browsing the web this morning, I saw that the topic de jour was that TSA was now screening liquids at the gate. We've talked about random gate screening here before, and if you travel frequently, you've likely experienced a gate screening. Not a big deal really... Heck, even I have been pulled aside for random gate screening.

So, the most popular question that comes up with this topic is: "Isn't this redundant?" On the surface, it does seem that way, and it's the first logical thought that many have. However, any security expert will tell you that nothing is ever 100% secure. So, gate screening is kind of like our safety net to keep up with anybody who might be trying to get things past conventional screening.

We stay away from static security tactics. Layered security is common practice, providing the necessary unpredictable measure that makes it more difficult to do malice to the transportation infrastructure. If everything we did was always the same, it would provide a checklist for people to know exactly what to expect. While this would be extremely helpful for passengers, it would also be useful to those wishing to do us harm.

To keep this from happening, every day at airports around the nation, we work with airport partners to determine what additional screening tactics should be employed. These additional random tactics, such as gate screening, greatly increase security by making it truly unpredictable.

As far as the testing of liquids at the gate, this is just one of the many options we have to choose from when deciding what additional tactics to use each day. We started using test strips back in the summer of 2007 and continue to do so. The test involves a test strip and a dropper containing a nontoxic solution. In case you're wondering, our officers don't place the test strips in your beverages/liquids. They simply have the passenger remove the cap/lid and they hold the strip over the opening of the container. Procedures call for moving the test strip to the side and applying the solution from the dropper to test the strip. If the test results are positive TSA will conduct additional testing to make a final assessment.

In a nutshell, liquid screening at gates is random and it isn't happening at every airport every day. So other than possibly taking a few moments of your time before boarding your flight, it's business as usual.

Blogger Bob Burns

TSA Blog Team 

If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us by clicking here.