Put Down Your Key and No One Will Be Hurt

[NFS4]

Put Down Your Key and No One Will Be Hurt

By JOE SHARKEY
Published: June 21, 2005

AFTER passing through security at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport recently, Nathan Rau noticed something odd - stuffed animal puppets, actually - affixed to two electronic wands used for body scans on passengers chosen for more intensive secondary screening.

"They told me they use the covered wands to screen young children," he said. "They said it makes the child feel a little more relaxed during the process."

Screeners at Minneapolis are using their heads, Mr. Rau decided.

Mr. Rau, a 31-year-old Minneapolis lawyer, has a fairly straightforward approach to evaluating airport security procedures. "I'll give praise where it's due, but not where it's not," Mr. Rau said.

Praise is due to the screeners in Minnesota, he said. But not for the screeners at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, who recently confiscated his car key as a prohibited item.

"I'm leaving Dallas on a Sunday and at security it's the usual stuff - shoes off, laptop out. My carry-on bag goes through the X-ray machine and I hear the infamous 'bag check!' " Mr. Rau recalled.

Here we go, he thought. "A screener says, 'Sir, is this your bag?' And I say, 'Yeah, and I need a private room if you're going to go through it,' " he recalled telling the screener.

Mr. Rau explained: "As an attorney, I carry documents, and because of the nature of what I do - I do intellectual property law - opening them up in a public place could have repercussions for myself or for my clients."

He was told private rooms were for personal screening, not for screening bags. That was not the case in Minneapolis, on the rare occasions when Mr. Rau said he was randomly selected for a secondary screening. "In Minneapolis, if you ask, they always give you a private room and they're nice about it," he said.

At the Dallas checkpoint, the contents of his bag were dumped on the table. "They pull out my car key," he said.

"What's this?" an inspector asked.

"My car key," Mr. Rau said.

Mr. Rau drives an Audi. Audis now come with stylish ignition keys designed to house the key inside a holder, preventing rips and wear on pocket liners. You push a button on a flat two-inch shaft and the key slides out.

As he demonstrated it, Mr. Rau could see the word forming in the minds of the screeners, now three, on his case: switchblade.

"Now the bells are ringing," he said. After running the key through the X-ray machine three times, the security committee reached a conclusion. "Well, sir, that's a switchblade style, and that's a prohibited item," Mr. Rau said he was told. "We're going to have to confiscate that."

Paperwork, of course, was required. His driver's license and other identification papers were photocopied.

"And of course, I didn't have my car keys," he said. Luckily, he keeps a spare in a little magnetized box under his car. But, it cost $300 to replace the key at the dealer, who must add a computer code for a specific car.

He was carrying his house key at the time. In comparison with the flat Audi key, "the house key looks like a saw blade," said Mr. Rau, who first described the incident anonymously on http://www.flyertalk.com, a frequent-flier forum.

On its Web site, http://www.tsa.gov, the Transportation Security Administration has posted a list of items you are not permitted to take on an airplane, in both checked bags and carry-ons. But the list is not "intended to be all-inclusive and is updated as necessary," the T.S.A. says, adding, "To ensure everybody's security, the screener may determine that an item not on this chart is prohibited."

Mr. Rau said, "That is the ultimate out - it's totally at their discretion."

Mr. Raus said of his Dallas-Fort Worth experience: "They were not ultra-rude about it. But you ever get the feeling you're just banging your head against a wall?"

Yes, we get that feeling frequently, his fellow business travelers will agree. Last week, the Business Travel Coalition, in a survey of both individual travelers and corporate travel managers, found that "inconsistency among airports was the No. 1 most troubling aspect of the airport security process."

That survey, which also elicited opinions about screening in general and about a proposed registered-traveler program that would expedite screening for those who registered personal information and possibly fingerprints in advance, is available at http://btcweb.biz.

Incidentally, it is not clear to me yet whether other Audi drivers have had ignition keys confiscated at other airports. Telephone calls seeking comment from a spokeswoman at Audi of America headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., were not returned.

E-mail: jsharkey@nytimes.com.

 

[jpeyton]

:|

This sh1t always gets my blood boiling. Fvck those TSA pricks.

 

[Kadarin]

That's amazing. Perhaps some screeners are on a power trip? I mean.. can they not recognize a car key when they see it, and are they confiscating the item on a technicality simply because they can?

 

[Ime]

Hey, the guy's a lawyer, right? Let him sue!

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
That's amazing. Perhaps some screeners are on a power trip? I mean.. can they not recognize a car key when they see it, and are they confiscating the item on a technicality simply because they can?

Typical government workers.

 

[DurocShark]

The TSA obviously doesn't like lawyers... :laugh:

 

[feralkid]

Bubba thinks he'll capture bin Laden syndrome.


:roll:

 

[everman]

I guess if you own such a car key, make sure the metal key portion is out like any normal key and they won't even notice it's "switchblade style" :disgust:

 

[imported_whatever]

Originally posted by: everman
I guess if you own such a car key, make sure the metal key portion is out like any normal key and they won't even notice it's "switchblade style" :disgust:

they might consider that trying to conceal a switchblade

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: whatever

Originally posted by: everman
I guess if you own such a car key, make sure the metal key portion is out like any normal key and they won't even notice it's "switchblade style" :disgust:

they might consider that trying to conceal a switchblade

:laugh:

 

[KarenMarie]

VeggieFrog got arrested under the terorism act... in london airport. cause of screeners.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
VeggieFrog got arrested under the terorism act... in london airport. cause of screeners.

c'mon, you've been here long enough to know you gotta tell us why.

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
VeggieFrog got arrested under the terorism act... in london airport. cause of screeners.

c'mon, you've been here long enough to know you gotta tell us why.

well, i did not want to totally hijack the OP thread... only partially hijack the thread.

So, if the OP says it is ok, I will post what happened.

 

[Mill]

Funny, just flew through DFW with my Audi key last week.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: KarenMarie

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
VeggieFrog got arrested under the terorism act... in london airport. cause of screeners.

c'mon, you've been here long enough to know you gotta tell us why.

well, i did not want to totally hijack the OP thread... only partially hijack the thread.

So, if the OP says it is ok, I will post what happened.

Fine with me

 

[Analog]

3" Folding Buck Knife carried on a plane without detection...

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Mill
Funny, just flew through DFW with my Audi key last week.

Sounds like they wanted to give the guy an attitudinal adjustment.

 

[tami]

Originally posted by: yellowfiero
3" Folding Buck Knife carried on a plane without detection...

my friend brought a pocketknife on a plane a WEEK after september 11th. he got away with it -- he didn't do it on purpose, but when he noticed it, he was concerned about how seriously security measures were being taken at the airports he was at (he came from canada into the US, so i guess that should raise a red flag -- but it didn't).

in any event, he is a lawyer, and as previously stated by others, he should sue. in fact, not only should he sue for the fact that he took his car keys which should pose NO threat to anyone, but he should also sue the airport for not honoring his request for a private room given the sensitive nature of his work.

 

[Kelemvor]

Not even surprised any more. TSA agents are the most useless piece of trash on the planet. THey are basically given ultimate power, no one can do anything once they tell you something can't go on, and most of them are high school flunkies who should go back to the trailer park they got kicked out of.

 

[KarenMarie]

Ok.. here is the story...

VeggieFrog and I have been traveling by plane since she is about 8 months old. Counrty wide as well as Europe. We have various suitcases and carry on backs of all shapes and sizes.

Ok.. when she JUST turned 18yrs old and became of majority, she booked a trip to see the Neosenate and they were to fly back together. Her passport was due to expire so she made sure she booked to be back the day before expiration.

She and Neosenate go thru the secuirty thingy and they pulled her aside. The carry on bag that she had was an old one that belonged to me and in the bottom of the side pocket was a lighter that also had a switchblade in it. The bag had not been used for about 8 years and I had long forgotten about it being there... it was just a little added security for a single mom traveling with a kid, ya know. And it was a lighter, too.

So, the ppl in Heathrow were being really mean about it. She tried to explain that it was my bag and my lighter and she did not know it was there. She told them they were more than welcome to keep it, as it was not hers. She tried to explain that it was the only flight to the USA that day and if she missed it, her passport would be invalid. Still, they insisted on calling the police.

By the time the police arrived, she was really upset and crying. Anyone who has seen or talked to VeggieFrog or even read her posts, will see that she is a sweet, beautiful, shy, respectful young lady... Anyway... at this point, the police arrive and she is BOOHOOing and telling the cops how sorry she was and how she didn't know and her passport and boohooboohoo...

So, the cops took her to the nearest station, asked her a few questions... and after a short time, escorted her back to the airport, spoke to whomever they needed to and made sure she got on that flight... they kept the lighter.

and when she got back, she was stunned that she carried it out of Newark Airport all the way to the UK, with a stopover/plane change in Amesterdam and no one said a word about it... but trying to get out of London was a no go. She worried forever that she would have a record or something, but I doubt that is the case, cause they just took her info here and there.

And that is the story.
Poor VeggieFrog.

 

[Banana]

LOL! In the meantime, the TSA guys completely missed my giant Swiss Army knife :roll:

OK, they didn't really miss it. The X-Ray guy saw it and asked for a bag check. The bag check guy poked around and couldn't find anything so he let me through. When I got to the hotel and unpacked, I saw the knife that I had forgotten from a previous trip!

 

[Auryg]

I nearly got on a plane with a big ole handsaw in my carryon, i had totally not even thought of it.

But that was a bit before 9/11..after 9/11 I went on a hunting trip to Canada..coming into Canada my gun bag was thoroughly checked, but coming back to the US it wasn't checked at all.

 

[cavemanmoron]

I have the ultimate solution to all problems involving Airplanes.


Drive your car to where you want to go.

If there is no road,do not go.

No problem,with airport security,nor with planes being stuck on the runway,etc.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: cavemanmoron
I have the ultimate solution to all problems involving Airplanes.


Drive your car to where you want to go.

If there is no road,do not go.

No problem,with airport security,nor with planes being stuck on the runway,etc.

you may be joking, but i no longer fly from the bay area to LA anymore, for just these reasons. i can drive there FASTER than i can fly, and i don't have to feel like a criminal doing it.

 

[no0b]

Ironic, my brother has successfully been able to transport a swiss army knife with a 2.5in blade through 3 major airports multiple times.



Also think about it, How easy it would be to make/buy a ceramic knife and keep it on your person through the metal detectors.