Last time I was on a flight, security said I could take a knife aboard.

[Grminalac]

Last february my friends and I went to New Orleans. We were a bit worried about being mugged so we brought small pocketknives. We didn't try to sneak them onboard or anything. I brought a small swiss army knife that was attached to my keychain. My friend brought this LINK we placed the knives in the tray (with our keys and other objects) as we walked through the metal detector, they handed us our stuff back as we passed through. They didn't seem to care. I am pretty sure the airlines allowed carry on pocketknives under a certain length.

Also when I was 10-12 I went on vacation with my friend to Washington D.C. I was a bit crazy at the time and always carryied a "handy sack" modeled after that lame show Macgyver. It had Tape and all kinds of junk, and also included a big old knife. I handed it to the security at the Capitol building they looked threough laughed when I told them it was my Macgyver kit and handed it back to me. Then we walked in...

Seems wierd that secuirty was that lax.

 

[Viper GTS]

In all honesty, a small knife really shouldn't be a problem.

If you have 5 people armed with small knives & 80+ people, the odds are significantly in the passengers' favor.

What allowed them to take the planes with knives? Simple, nobody expected this. Traditionally, hijackings have ended up more of an inconvenience than anything else. You sit on the tarmac in Libya for a day, & then you get rushed home once everything is resolved. Nobody expected to get flown into a building, they were even told by the hijackers that nobody would be hurt.

Now that this has happened, nobody will be able to take an airplane with a knife. They'd get their ass kicked, & probably their throats cut at 20,000 feet.

That having been said, I've taken a knife beyond the security checkpoints at airports numerous times. Gerber multi-tools, a couple folding kinves, etc. I just put them in the basket & they waved me through.

Viper GTS

 

[glen]

What about large ceramic blade knives.
Will they pass security?

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

yeah, prior to this, 4-inch blades were not considered a threat and were allowed.

 

[Shockwave]

When I was younger, say 10 - 16, I used to take a butterfly knife with me "just in case" when I went on international flights. I seriously doubt I even want to take one to the airport after this.

 

[royaldank]

Knives were not a problem. These guys (as evidence stands now) should have been allowed to take everything they had on the plane. Meaning that was not a problem. Why the media seems to think these "under paid minimum wage guys can't protect us" is ludicrous. I don't care if the President had been at the checkpoint, he would have allowed them on because they didn't break any rules.

They also choose Tuesday for a reason. It is the slowest day of travel and thus, lowest number of passengers. They probably singled those flights as having typically low passenger rates on that day also. They had to keep the crew and passengers small enough so that they could have control.

 

[veryape]

Who would have ever thought that terrorists could take over a jetliner with knives?. Its just inconceivable.

 

[BigSmooth]

I agree with Viper, the blades weren't really what allowed the hijackers to take the plane. I think they claimed they had a bomb, which is significantly more frightening than some box-cutters. And of course, no hijacker has ever used a plane to destroy buildings in this manner so the passengers on the first three planes probably believed that they would not be hurt, unlike the passengers on the fourth plane.

 

[slunk]

My girlfriend's father flew from Dallas to San Antonio last weekend. He bought his ticket on the Internet for the flight. When he reached the check-in counter, he just read his ticket number. They didn't even look at his DL or anything. That's pathetic. He even had an exacto knife in his briefcase. They didn't even notice it.

 

[LordJezo]

It is like that everywhere though.. was anyway.

This summer I got into the US Mint with a pocket kinfe, into an amusment park, and a few other things with "security" check points.

It will be interesting to see how that all changes now..

 

[bbkat]

Key word in the title is "last time"


After all this, I'd feel more comfortable flying with a knife in my pocket. Never happen though. Not now.

 

[SJ]

4 inch blades were allows per FAA regulations. Before all the school shootings, kids could take 4 inch blades to school too.

As for security. Im a white male 19 years of age, every time I go to an airport, I get id'ed and patted down for 5-10 minutes... On July 15 I was actually flying from Logan back to DFW, I was searched.