http://www.meetup.com/Martin-Luther-King-Airline-Boycott-2011/

Several readers bring up points I’d like to address. First, with regards to Justin Scott’s question about how the TSA can determine the validity of an individual pilot’s credentials: the system has already been set up, it is amazingly effective and simple, and I would go so far as to say that it is as tamper-proof as it can be. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you how it works (I’d have to kill you). But suffice it to say, it works, and I think you’d be impressed. Second, on the issue of the unions advocating for proper cargo security, chances are the loss of the UPS 747 in Dubai will speed that along. However, you are correct in that progress has been slower than it should have been, and the money is to blame. Third, while it is true that the last two on-board efforts to engage in terrorism began overseas, the reverse is also true: no explosives have been boarded domestically since 2001. Fourth, to those who point out that the pat-downs, etc. are a consequence of the choice of flying, you are correct. I don’t like them personally, but when it comes to safeguarding my flight, I again stand behind them. Finally, it is all about money. The type and format of security that we have is driven by efficiency (a demand of all of the stakeholders) and by the cost. Passengers will only pay a certain amount for a ticket, and the cost of security is borne primarily by the passengers.

Is the system on the whole perfect? No, not even close. But the passenger screening does work, and it is what we have, and so long as I am in the pointy end of the plane, I want to know that you have been dissuaded from trying something dumb because of the risk of getting caught. As for the fact that I am in the pointy end, I still do feel that pilots should be subjected to the same screening as passengers. But, that’s just my opinion.

Thanks for the feedback. If you have any other (appropriate) topics you want me to address, let me know. I will do my best to start another debate!

I agree 115% with Mario, all the TSA is concerned about is putting on a good show with screening passengers, when there are many more layers of contact where security threats can be introduced outside of the passengers.

This really Janet Napalatano’s fault, she is extremely unqualified. She makes excused for very lame policy, and if she had a similar job in the private sector, she would have been fired long ago. This is the danger of having “Appointed” rather than elected officials.

Next time you hate standing in line at the TSA, think long and hard about voting in Government officials (from the President on down) who actually know what they are doing or give a damn.

The annualized death rate from domestic terrorism is less than 300 per year over the past decade. TSA’s annual budget is about $6.3 billion per year. That would give an annualized cost per presumably prevented death of $21 million each. Are there any other areas the government is willing to spend like that for each ordinary citizen? Thirteen percent of the homeless are veterans, supposedly self-sacrificial defenders of freedom, heroes not worth a small fraction of TSA-like funding. Health industry studies reveal that in hospital preventable loss of life to be greater than 100,000 per year: not a political issue (other than so-called “tort reform”, another avenue to discount the value of human life). There are many other examples of the same so it seems safe to assume that saving traveler’s lives is not part of the equation.

I remember that when Patty Hearst was kidnapped immediately 100 FBI agents were assigned to the case. My sister in law at the time went missing but the police informed me that missing person reports weren’t accepted until the subject had been missing for at least a week. So SOP policy there revealed different standards for persons judged to be of different “value”.

It seems worth pointing out that the last two attempts at blowing up US common carrier airliners were prevented by the passengers, not TSA. The latter, the so-called Christmas bomber, was a threat known to the FBI, CIA, TSA, and the State Department but was allowed to board anyway without any sort of TSA challenge. No government official seemed to be unduly worried about passenger safety. So there must be another explanation.

That explanation is government policy that is apart from any ordinary citizen’s safety concern and devoid of any consideration of either civil or human rights. I notice that Ben Franklin has been quoted here defining the ordinary citizen’s worthiness for liberty. I don’t think “just deal with it” meets Ben’s test. I agree with those who advocate avoiding commercial air travel. Since I can’t afford my own aircraft I drive. I have no TSA hassle, no baggage ransom, no cancellation threat, and only minor time loss (depending on the distance) and travel cost since I don’t have to rent a car at my destination. Most importantly though, I take total responsibility for my own safety while enjoying the advantage of not having to kneel to authorities who ought to be my servants.

I don’t like the full body scanners because – because of the unpublished radiation risk levels. The TSA shouldn’t think of me as being a pest – I also question my dentist EVERY time he wants another set of bite wings and I usually decline – despite his – “it is only like having 10 minutes in the sun”. My answer – “I cover up when I go out in the sun”. I’ve had the pre-cancerous meloaomas removed from my arms – I don’t want any more.

Google around and you will find that there is growing opinion in the medical profession that because of doctors’ CYA mentality – driven by the “sue for malpractice” mentality of the patients – that un-necessary medical imaging is CAUSING an additional 29,000 cases of cancer per year in the USA. The studies are statistical analysis of trends and not actual full blown studies – because none have been commissioned yet.

We shouldn’t be surprised if the 29,000 number turn out to be correct. After all routine fluroscoping of women and children’s feet in shoe stores was the norm in the 1920′s, 30′s and 40′s till it was figured that standing on top of an X-Ray tube with no other body shielding was probably not a good idea!

So while the Back Scatter radiation risk is unknown and the EPIC’s FOIA request for information on the radiation risks grinds through the courts – http://epic.org/privacy/body_scanners/Radiation_Complaint_11_19_10.pdf

…..I’ll take the pat downs.

Chip, as you are competent enough to command an airliner you can also understand these costly and intrusive methods are nothing but political window dressings to mask the real issue – there is no way to stop all possibility of attacks. For example, do the body scanners detect items held in body cavities? No – The prisons have dealt with that type of smuggling for years. A terrorist is not ignorant to those methods

If a lack of body scanners is such a weakness, why has your politically motivated airline pilot association not succeeded in getting all the cargo and gate vehicles scanned? The Israelis have understood this as a fact of life for years – the terrorists have achieved fear and intimidations beyond their capabilities by turning our government into their agent of intimidation.. Let’s face it, it’s a small group of people that takes advantage of the masses on either side. Its big business on both sides, and the rest of us get harassed in the middle.

What I consider a big danger is your FDDO program. As an armed peace officer AND a pilot, I know that you don’t have the experience behind the weapon you are carrying, and that brings additional dangers to a situation by introducing a firearm. As law enforcement officers our gun battles are typically in the open, less than 10 feet away, and we regularly miss and occasionally wound the innocent. Many weapons are taken away and used against us by previously unarmed suspects. I can only imagine the scenarios with a weapon handled by a professional pilot with minimal firearms training and no street survival experience to draw from while inside a metal tube surrounded by complex electronics and innocent bystanders involved in the struggle at 30,000 feet. It would have better odds as a private pilot flying your airliner.

If you feel as violated by the current state of security measures as us flying public, you should consider using your professional influence and journalistic avenues to address the real issues rather than complaining about being subject to similar rules as the rest of us.

I come to you from a different perspective. The baggage handler, mechanic, gate agents and cleaners. We are the people behind the scenes. My roommate and I have worked at the our international airport for 20 years. If we wanted we could get any type of weapon on any plane at just about anytime. There is no (very little) security screening for us. We have access to all parts of the plane and terminal. The flying public has no clue as to what we could do and the TSA, does not seem to care. They are more concerned about their public image, the appearance of making things safe, and the harassment of our paying customers and pilots. We too are supposed to go through the TSA screening when we fly, either on stand by or as a paying customer. This is complied with about 80% of the time. Less now than before, with the additional scanners. We do not like the pat downs and scanner, so we avoid them. We take other entrances into the terminal. A little cash or a threat to a family member would ensure a gun or bomb planted to the specifications of the madman. 99% of my coworkers would report such a threat or bribe. But 1% of our little (?) workforce is a lot of people throughout the airport system. It only takes one.