Here’s another reason to skip the airlines and fly General Aviation. The next airliner you get on could be damaged and made unairworthy by none other than TSA! I’ve previously written about the top 10 reasons to skip the airlines and fly yourself on general aviation. But this new reason may save your life!
Yes, that’s right, TSA is now damaging airliners! This week, an ignorant TSA inspector damaged and made unairworthy 9 airliners at Chicago O’Hare airport. Nine aircraft damaged (fortunately this damage was discovered by observant pilots) and over 40 flights delayed while the damaged equipment was replaced. Why was this done? To see whether someone could get into the airplanes. Not by steps and doors…but “spiderman” style. A TSA inspector used aircraft equipment as…monkey bars!…in an attempt to climb into the aircraft. Keep in mind that TSA did not report the damage they caused, so what might have happened if they damaged equipment that was not discovered before the flight………?
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But of course, TSA was apologetic about this incredibly stupid act, disciplined the inspector, and said this would never happen again…..right? WRONG! Instead, they are defending the inspector, blaming the airline for lack of security (because by damaging the planes, they could get access to 7 aircraft). Worse, although they have supposedly provided some additional training to its inspectors, TSA continues to encourage its inspectors to look for and exploit such “vulnerabilities”.
So while you worry about the terrorist threat against air carrier travel…you now need to add the ignorant, self-righteous, virtually unregulated staff of the TSA. Do you know who’s been climbing on and digging through the sensitive equipment on your airliner?
Fly your own airplane and avoid this madness! Cheers!
August 29, 2008 at 12:25 pm
TSA was inspecting the precautionary measures furnished for the aircraft parking overnight at O’Hare. The TSA inspector was acting like a terrorist who assumingly will not bother about risking the airworthiness of the aircraft. However, TSA was equally supposed to fully reveal what happened to the air carrier concerned. Actually, fixing the declared damage related to the airworthiness is far less than the irreparable damage of a terrorist infiltration.
August 29, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Thanks for your comment. David. Conducting an inspection for security is appropriate. But “role playing” by untrained personnel, operating in secret, on operational aircraft, in a manner that damages the aircraft, is so outrageous that there isn’t an adequate word for it. And to leave the damage unreported is totally irresponsible and amounts to a real act of terrorism, as far as I am concerned. If you are going to explore the vulnerabilities of an aircraft, it should be a controlled, well planned exercise by highly trained personnel, preferrably on unservicable aircraft. Use this exercise to identify aircraft-specific vulnerabilities and then inspect these areas of operational aircraft, unannounced, but under the direct supervision of appropriate airline and aircraft personnel. I fear this will not happen because TSA continues to operate in an outlaw manner, with seemingly unlimited power and discretion and essentially no oversight.