'Doofus' U.S. air travellers carry chainsaws, land

[mpenguin1]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Many air travellers in the United States apparently still haven't understood the word about leaving their handguns and knives behind when they go to the airport - not to mention chainsaws, landmines and gunpowder, too.

In October alone, screeners seized ammunition 2,000 times, along with 170,940 knives and 73 guns.

The TSA has found knives disguised as lipstick, a radio with a handgun inside, a loaded gun stuffed into a teddy bear. Several people have tried to bring chainsaws onto planes. A U.S. army sergeant was kicked off a flight after an inert landmine was found in his checked luggage. One man packed gunpowder and a fuse for his hobby of shooting golf balls out of cannons.

http://travelcanada.sympatico.msn.ca...title=&abc=abc

[Doug Taylor]

I used to think it was the TSA, but I certainly think it's the average passenger that doesn't look at the big picture!

But our friendly gate screener 'took his ball and went home' before I had an opportunity to interject my 'amended' thoughts.

[tonyw]

Are people REALLY that dumb? I could see it right after September 11, maybe for a few months, even a year, but after THREE FREAKING YEARS?

Seems like there at least a few people who have been hit with the stupidity stick way too many times.

[Doug Taylor]

Tony, I use the system probably almost 15 times per month and yes, people are that stupid. In AUS a lady with a billion piercings, big belt buckle, tons of metal and probably at least $8 in pocket change felt it necessary to preach to me about how unreasonable security was.

I wanted to say, "B----- you lit that metal detector off like it was a Las Vegas slot machine, yo!"

[tonyw]

Now that would have been hilarious.

Now first of all, I am far from perfect. On the Sunday after the September 11 attacks, I did what I normally did before the attacks. When I flew to SAN on September 10, I threw my utility knife into my briefcase. So when I flew back on September 16, what did I do? Threw it back into the briefcase because it was what I had always done when I went to trade shows. D'oh! A bunch of guys from the California national guard armed with M-16s took a very keen interest in me after that.

But you know the t-shirt, right? Keep Austin weird?

Seems like that woman was taking that shirt's advice to heart too seriously.

[flyover]

Yeah, but when you think of the number of passengers screened, these are not huge numbers. And remember for some people hand guns and ammunition are an ordinary part of their lives, easy to forget in the rush to the airport.

I would hardly say the "average" passenger is that dumb.

[Mr_Creepy]

[ QUOTE ]

The TSA has found knives disguised as lipstick, a radio with a handgun inside, a loaded gun stuffed into a teddy bear.

[/ QUOTE ]

All three of these were done in MCO and they were TSA agents or setups, trying to test the security.