taking EPIRB & VHF on flight

[Channel Ribs]

Originally Posted by mike-m

It does result in a hodge podge of different standards applied at different airports though....

If there were identical procedures at every airport on every day it would be far far easier for the bad guys to work around them, but aside from that there are a wide number of variables to take into account.

Originally Posted by mike-m

And to say it is nothing to do with the captain of the aircraft??!!

I cant really comment on that, I was obviously not there.

You said that they apply security procedures to you in the same way as everyone else, but you also seem to want some flexibility. Not sure how both can be achieved.

[mike-m]

Originally Posted by Channel Ribs

If there were identical procedures at every airport on every day it would be far far easier for the bad guys to work around them, but aside from that there are a wide number of variables to take into account.



I cant really comment on that, I was obviously not there.

You said that they apply security procedures to you in the same way as everyone else, but you also seem to want some flexibility. Not sure how both can be achieved.

Well, I would prefer we got treated a little differently as flight crew and were treated as part of the solution, not part of the problem. Afterall, we don't need nailclippers/toothpaste/explosives to crash the aircraft into the houses of parliament!! Either we are trusted or we are not - in which case we shouldn't be allowed to fly the plane!

How is it logical to deny a pilot a big tube of toothpaste, but then place the two firearms being carried by protection officers on the flight deck??!!

Really, this probably isn't the place to get into this, but my issues with UK security come from comparisons with security in many different airports the world over - and we don't compare well in many respects Too much reliance on PC stuff and clumsy procedure, not enough on more sophisticated aspects that are well proven. Check out Ben Gurion and El Al.

A conversation best held over a few drinks at a good bar!!

Regards,

Mike

[Channel Ribs]

Originally Posted by mike-m

A conversation best held over a few drinks at a good bar!!

[Courageous]

Ben Gurion and El Al Mike...... Hmmm. After a 6 month contract out there I came away rather less than impressed about their procedures to be honest. Oh and I was there when they closed down Ben Gurion for 2 days after George and his cronies took out the world trade centre. As you say, better dealt with over beers.

I just came back through Stansted with my new high 5 prop in a bag. I asked the security guy the previous morning whether this was going to be an issue and he told me that if he was on the next day then he'd be happy with it but since he was finishing for the week he suggested I contact the supervisor and obtained "pre approval". Having been Stansted based for 18 months some time ago I was quite surprised that this was an option. I have no idea whether the public can avail of this. In the event I did as he suggested and the supervisor agreed to let it pass and asked me to contact her the next morning just prior to my passage through so that she could contact the guys and warn them of my imminent arrival. This I did and she carried out her promise. Anyway I arrived a minute or so later to see that they weren't too busy. I announced my arrival stating that "I was pleased to see they weren't so busy as I was going to present a problem" and they replied with "ah propeller man's arrived - let's have a gander at THIS!". At that point the other "victims" passing through all craned their necks to have a peek.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Hightower

After we landed in Madrid for my connecting flight I had to go though the security all again. Again I couldn't believe my luck as they missed it again. How lucky was I?

Not 'specially, I'm afraid. I had a bit of a dash to Lyon a couple of years back and was well checked over at Security - detector and pat-down. The guys in front of me took serious grief as they BOTH had artificial hip joints . I arrived in Beune and when retiring, threw my jeans over a chair. There was a thud as my trusty lock-knife landed on the floor... oops!

I recall a couple of lads at Gatwick causing Mrs willk to almost miss her flight, searching her hand luggage for a "knife" that the x-ray was highlighting. After a 10 minute check, nothing was revealed. Maybe the hairbrush they thought....

BTW, deployment of a marine EPIRB/PLB on an aircraft would be noticed immediately by the skipper, as the 121.5 receiver would be squawking loud in the cockpit, I'd be doubtful about the satellite signal even exiting the airframe in any meaningful way...

[Channel Ribs]

Security screeners at Charles de Gaulle Airport somehow failed to notice that passenger en route to Vietnam stashed 500 grams of TNT in his luggage along with a hunting rifle and a trove of bullets, according to Agence France Presse.

The passenger was apparently a Lao farmer who meant no harm, according to German media outlet DPA. He claims to have purchased the rifle in France to hunt animals back in Laos -- not people -- and planned to make his own bullets with the TNT.
"He has no bad intention," a Lao official told DPA.

The farmer had wrapped up a visit to his kids in France, the former colonial power in Laos, and was nabbed by security officials while transiting through Vietnam.