Airport security incident Pre 911

[fmblizz]

While at a phonograph show in Orlando, I picked up an original fire alarm pull station from the Victor Talking Machine Co. Being that I was a career firefighter as a profession I just had to have it.

Keep in mind that this was PRE 911 and I don't even think TSA was invented yet.

I was very exited about my find/purchase so I decided it was best to put it in a gym bag and use balled up news's paper as padding since it was always to be in my possession under the seat in front of me on the plane.

Well that didn't go well...

Of course security at the time picked up on this massive block of cast iron with some electrical components inside on their X-ray machine and I think I recall some bells going off. Needless to say, this quickly got the attention of some supervisors.

They pull me and the gym bag out of line and had me open it as I tried to explain exactly what I was trying to bring onboard the aircraft.

Next order of business was the cotton swab wipedown for explosives.. You guessed it, it tested positive and now I'm off with a pissed off wife and my firebox to a special room. By now there are 4 or 5 security officers huddled around asking question. The box was tested again for explosive residue and once again it came up positive...

Getting a bit nervous at this point and our flight was boarding.. It seemed like I repeated my story about the fire box and what exactly it's important's was to me a dozen times by now.

The fact that my story was consistent and hopefully making sense, I think my real saving grace was the fact that my wife still had some type of advertising for the Orlando Phonograph Show in her purse and we showed it to the inspection team,, that coupled with the fact that I made a statement something to the effect that I'd have to be crazy to bring something explosive on an aircraft that I was going to be flying on. I thought maybe I would get a few chuckles out of that statement but that didn't happen.

Long story short, we barely made the flight and we were finally able to board with the alarm box. Also I'm still married to the same person.

After doing some restoration and fabricating a wooden mounting board, I still have the firebox proudly displayed on the wall in my house.

blizz

[fmblizz]

This incident was posted in a previous thread but a member thought it was worthy of it's own thread...

Blizz

[emerson]

So where did you hide the explosives----Ha Ha. Good story as well as the restoration and display.

[poodling around]

I very much enjoyed reading about your experience and absolutely love the item you brought back.

Fantastic stuff !

[TinfoilPhono]

I think I may have posted about this before, but back in the mid-1990s I bought an original Fondain tinfoil phonograph at a show back east. To carry it home safely I took everything from my carry-on and packed it all in my check-in suitcase, and proceeded to put the tinfoil into the carry-on, with heavy bubble-wrap all around it for cushioning. There was nothing else in the bag.

When I got to the Philadelphia airport and went through the old-fashioned security line, consisting simply of an X-ray machine, I was fully prepared to have to open the bag and explain it. But it went through the conveyor, got scanned, and passed without a question.

It was only later that it dawned on me that something was very wrong about that. The X-ray would have shown the outline of the suitcase, with a big, square block of impenetrable metal, and a metal shaft sticking off of two sides. And nothing else. If that's not suspicious, what is? Of course I began to wonder about how effective this "security" was.

It bothered me enough that when I got home I wrote a letter (pre-email) to the FAA and explained the details, including the exact location in the airport and the exact time and date. I included a photo of the machine. A week later I received a phone call from an official at the FAA. To say that he took it seriously would be a huge understatement. He asked me a lot of additional questions and thanked me for the amount of detail I had given them. Then he told me that they were especially concerned about this because one of their periodic routine tests of the system was to put a large square or rectangular slab of metal into a carry-on bag and see if the operator questioned it. As he said, a metal slab like that could easily mask a handgun, so it was a critical test. And, coincidentally, the size of their test slab was nearly identical to that of the phonograph.

I have no doubt that whoever was assigned to that machine at that time on that day got into a lot of trouble. As well he should. That was incredibly careless.

[Chuck]

That just illustrates the fact that airport
security is a very large dog-and-pony show.

Yep. 90 year old grandmothers must be strip
searched, because everyone knows they carry
weapons and explosives.

Meanwhile, large chunks of iron sometimes can
pass right through.

Feel safe on a commercial jetliner?

Haha. it's all an illusion.

[Mormon S]

That just illustrates the fact that airport
security is a very large dog-and-pony show.

Yep. 90 year old grandmothers must be strip
searched, because everyone knows they carry
weapons and explosives.

Meanwhile, large chunks of iron sometimes can
pass right through.

Feel safe on a commercial jetliner?

Haha. it's all an illusion.

This is all pre 9/11, and you're talking about modern TSA. Call it excessive all you want, but it saves lives.

[Raphael]

Earlier this year I was carrying a small music box (a c.1830 Brugieure singing bird) worth about $50k through Boston Logan and not a piece to be clumsily messed about with. When I got through the initial ID checkpoint, I immediately asked to see a supervisor. I told him that I had something rare and unusual in my bag, and requested a private screening with at least two additional screeners present. Upon opening my bag, I explained to the group the delicate nature of the piece, and that I would like to demonstrate it first. I then showed him my business card and website via my smartphone. After demonstrating the piece and explaining the delicate nature of the fusee movement and bird, I invited them to activate it themselves. The supervisor did, and I must say they were not only spellbound but quite courteous throughout the process. I also had a large amount of cash, about $25k, in my bag and they accepted my explanation that as an antique dealer it is sometimes necessary to carry such cash around in order to pay for private-party acquisitions. Had I been confrontational or belligerent with the music box inspection, the cash may have been a problem waiting to happen. But all went well and the whole process only took an extra 5 or 10 minutes.

Raphael

[fmblizz]

always said you catch more bee's with honey,,, perfect example..

blizz

[Chuck]

I forgot to include in my previous post, that
in my humble opinion, modern TSA also falls
well into the "Dog and Pony Show" category,
and that it too provides only the illusion of
safe air travel.