Radium Dial Check At Border

[N2865C]

Interesting story on Avweb....

July 28, 2008

Radium Dial Check At Border Email this article |Print this article
July 28, 2008
by Russ Niles
Editor-in-Chief

A Canadian pilot says he was delayed almost three hours on the flight to AirVenture while U.S. authorities checked his aircraft for radioactive material in the instruments. Joe Scoles says his vintage Cessna 170 most likely has radium dials but he was shocked when the TSA official sweeping his plane with a detector at Port Huron, Mich., told him his aircraft was just below the limit of detectable radiation allowed in the U.S. and that it could have been impounded if it was above that limit. "That was a real surprise to me," he said.

The Department of Homeland Security announced last year that it would be screening aircraft coming into the country for radioactive material, but the announcement suggested they would be looking for nuclear material; Scoles said that's not the impression he got. "They knew exactly what they were looking for," he said. "They went straight to the panel.

http://www.avweb.com/news/airventure/EA ... 419-1.html

[GAHorn]

Another case of gov't workers mis-trained and mis-directed.

The reason they went straight to the instrument panel is because that's where they've learned their sensors "go off".... so that's where they check as it fascinates them. The TSA needs to be re-trained. Any terrorist worth his salt will make absolutely certain his instrument panel has radium-illuminated dials to distract TSA workers from looking anywhere else for a meaningful amount of nuclear/radioactive material.

[Kyle Wolfe]

Certainly gives Joe some additional items to cover when he delivers the 170 forum later this week in Oshkosh!

[flyguy]

Another case of gov't workers mis-trained and mis-directed.

The reason they went straight to the instrument panel is because that's where they've learned their sensors "go off".... so that's where they check as it fascinates them.

BUNCHA NEE JERK JERKS.
WHY THE HELL DO WE LET THE BURRO CRATS GIT AWAY WITH SUCH STUPIDITY?
WE OUGHT TO REDUCE THAT BUNCH OF MORONS WAGES TO THE "MINIMUM WAGE"
AND PUT THEM FOLLOWING PARADE ANIMALS WITH A GARBAGE CAN AND
A SHOVEL !

[jrenwick]

We saw some of the radiation detectors at US Customs airports on our recent Alaska trip. In Juneau the guy carried it, but didn't use it on my plane. In Northway the guy told me he was new to the job, and I was his first arrival. He started checking the exterior skin of the fuselage, holding the detector about an inch away and moving it slowly along the length. Then he remarked that in order to do what he'd been trained to do, it would take several hours to screen the entire aircraft. Then he stopped doing it and let me go.

Could there be a disconnect between the managers who think these things up and the people on the ground who have to implement the policy?

If I were a terrorist, these guys have effectively given me what I need to know in order to bring radioactive materials into the country without being caught at it. Similar to when I returned to the US through London Gatwick last year and was frisked for no reason that I can think of, other than that I was wearing cargo pants. Now I know the places they aren't allowed to touch (pretty obvious, really).

[GAHorn]

OL' Gar has figgered out that part 'bout friskin' too!

He tole 'em he was GAY... and so they had a woman frisk him!

You guys are gonna love this story that was sent to me from a newpaper clipping in Australia:

A non-revenue passenger whose name was (no kidding) Mr. Gay, was finally allowed to board the aircraft by Ansett Airlines, but when he approached his assigned seat, he found it occupied by a paying passenger. Not to cause a stir, he simply sat down at the vacant seat just behind to await the push-back for takeoff.
Unbeknownst to them, another Ansett flight suffered a mechanical and all the passengers from that flight were being diverted to other Ansett aircraft, including the one our friend was on. The gate agent for the airline was told to remove any non-revenue passengers to make room for the diverted paying passengers, so when the ticket agent came up to the seat in which she expected to find Mr. Gay, she was unknowningly addressing a paying passenger.
"Are you Gay?", she asked.
"Well, YES, I AM", the man replied.
"Then you must get off this airplane.", responded the ticket agent. The real Mr. Gay quickly realized the error and spoke up: "Wait! I'M Gay!"
Immediately, a passenger four seats back stood up and shouted, "Well, I'm gay too! .. And they CAN'T MAKE US GET OFF! WE CAN FLY ANY AIRPLANE WE WANT!" and a general commotion broke out before it was finally all settled.

[c170b53]

I was scanned at a small airport in Wa. but I'm sure this gentleman knew what he was doing. In other words, he had to do it but he also possessed some common dog. The lower the pay, as in the big airports, the lower the common dog.