If you're traveling on a commercial airline, read this...

Art VanDelay said:
I'd like to hear the other side of this story, got to be more to this other than all the "woe is me" crap this guy is spouting.
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Well, we may find out. The Boston Globe is now reporting on the story. And they've also (in addition to the news story) posted a column by the ACLU.

http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2011/08/25/vance_gilbert_recounts_trouble_before_flight/

http://boston.com/community/blogs/on_liberty/2011/08/racial_profiling_first_hand.html?p1=Upbox_links
 
Excuse me but it seems some people don't know how to behave in public. Being asked questions by a police officer is nothing to be ashamed of. Act civil and respectful and let the guy do his job. It seems to me that the officer WAS.
The only time you need to be fearful of the LEO is if you're guilty of something.
Grow up. Not everyone is a racist or abusing their authority.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
No jet? You are a threat.

I read someplace some of the 9/11 terrists took flying lessons but weren't interested in learning to land.
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They took more than "flying lessons", they were commercially rated pilots. Why they felt the need to become commercially rated pilots to figure out how to navigate and not land is beyond me...
 
ajstoner21 said:
They took more than "flying lessons", they were commercially rated pilots. Why they felt the need to become commercially rated pilots to figure out how to navigate and not land is beyond me...
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At least some of them weren't interested in landing...
A pilot they consulted at one school, the Sorbi Flying Club in San Diego, spoke Arabic. He explained to them that their flight instruction would begin with small planes. Hazmi and Mihdhar emphasized their interest in learning to fly jets, Boeing aircraft in particular, and asked where they might enroll to train on jets right away. Convinced that the two were either joking or dreaming, the pilot responded that no such school existed. Other instructors who worked with Hazmi and Mihdhar remember them as poor students who focused on learning to control the aircraft in flight but took no interest in takeoffs or landings. By the end of May 2000, Hazmi and Mihdhar had given up on learning how to fly.37
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Ref: http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report_Ch7.htm

You're probably correct in others taking more advanced training...and the ones cited above may not have been the actual pilots- I don't keep a scorecard on these guys.
 
As soon as this guy played the race card he lost any sympathy I had for him.

The fact that he is african-american had nothing to do with the reality that paranoid sheeple are gonna freak out.
 
DavidWhite said:
As soon as this guy played the race card he lost any sympathy I had for him.

The fact that he is african-american had nothing to do with the reality that paranoid sheeple are gonna freak out.
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Given that the 47 or some odd posts before yours are from a bunch of white guys saying that they never had any problems when reading aircraft-related books on the airlines, or when carrying aircraft-related material on board airlines, it seems to me that there is a good chance that the color of this guy's skin may have played some part in this incident.

FWIW, I'm white, I used to fly weekly, and have carried and read aircraft training manuals, flying magazines, sectionals, and even my flight bag on hundreds of airplane flights, and have never been questioned.
 
rottydaddy said:
And I'd also bet that this pax was upset not so much because the guy was black as because he was not white, if you get my drift.
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25namesvance1.jpg


Maybe. Who knows what will set people off. I doubt that it was because he was reading a book about antique airplanes.
 
infotango said:
Given that the 47 or some odd posts before yours are from a bunch of white guys saying that they never had any problems when reading aircraft-related books on the airlines, or when carrying aircraft-related material on board airlines, it seems to me that there is a good chance that the color of this guy's skin may have played some part in this incident.

FWIW, I'm white, I used to fly weekly, and have carried and read aircraft training manuals, flying magazines, sectionals, and even my flight bag on hundreds of airplane flights, and have never been questioned.
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Good point.
 
infotango said:
Given that the 47 or some odd posts before yours are from a bunch of white guys saying that they never had any problems when reading aircraft-related books on the airlines, or when carrying aircraft-related material on board airlines, it seems to me that there is a good chance that the color of this guy's skin may have played some part in this incident.

FWIW, I'm white, I used to fly weekly, and have carried and read aircraft training manuals, flying magazines, sectionals, and even my flight bag on hundreds of airplane flights, and have never been questioned.
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Completely agree that race (particularly since it was in New England...not the most tolerant neck of the woods) may have been a factor, but he still lost credibility when he played the race card. Wasn't necessary to make his point.
 
After reading his post of the incident I COMPLETELY disagree that he was playing "the race card". And Dell and Bill for starting this whole shenanigans should be banished to the SZ forever.
 
I'd like to hear the flight attendant's side of the story. In the story on the web page, the cop asked if he had a problem with his bag. It sounded like he might have had an issue cooperating with the flight crew, if we had heard their side of the story.

It's still BS. I don't think it was a racial profiling thing. I think that it is an overall hyper-sensitivity to anyone that doesn't follow orders like a little lamb on or near a commercial flight.
 
roadwarrior said:
I'd like to hear the flight attendant's side of the story. In the story on the web page, the cop asked if he had a problem with his bag. It sounded like he might have had an issue cooperating with the flight crew, if we had heard their side of the story.

It's still BS. I don't think it was a racial profiling thing. I think that it is an overall hyper-sensitivity to anyone that doesn't follow orders like a little lamb on or near a commercial flight.
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It might not be racial profiling, but I don't think the focus should be so much on racial profiling anyways in this case. There's lots of other kinds of profiling that are very bad but that aren't based on race.

Maybe the person in question here looked "suspicious" in other ways - maybe because he chose to dress in a certain way, or because he had a beard. The freedom to dress oneself is sadly also under attack in this rather unfree country :(
 
Everskyward said:
25namesvance1.jpg


Maybe. Who knows what will set people off. I doubt that it was because he was reading a book about antique airplanes.
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Anybody else look at this picture and think "If that's a dreadnought guitar, that guy is HUGE!" ?

John
 
TSA is working on making travel more convenient. I'll hold the sarcasm as ANY improvement is welcome.

I suggested improving TSA agent training on another board and was pommeled. Others made some suggestions and were quickly chastened with why it couldn't be done.

Please notice what the estimate is of how much revenue is lost because folks skip trips rather than putting up with the current humiliating rituals, but what's 85 billion here and there?


Best,

Dave
====================================================

Ten years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, airport-security screening is still in flux, with complaints up, some travelers more outraged than ever and the Transportation Security Administration embarking on a major strategy shift.

TSA Administrator John Pistole promises the U.S. is finally moving toward smarter checkpoint security rather than treating everyone the same. This fall, the TSA will test a "trusted traveler'' program in Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and Detroit, with expedited screening for select frequent fliers of American and Delta airlines who are willing to turn over background information.

58 million passengers passed through TSA airport screening in June.
Screening-related complaints rose 143% to 1,975 from a year earlier.
Baggage-damage complaints fell 12% to 962 over the same period.
Surveyed travelers forgo 2-3 trips each year to avoid airport hassles.
An estimated $85 billion in revenue for travelrelated business is lost because of skipped trips

Sources: TSA, U.S. Travel Association
The Middle Seat Terminal

Airlines Recovering Quickly From Irene
The Most Expensive Airports for Fliers: How Does Your Hometown Rate?

In addition, a pilot program is under way to reduce pat-downs of children, substituting measures such as explosive-detection hand swabs for friskings. And new software is being deployed that addresses privacy concerns and speeds up screening by displaying generic line drawings of body-scan images rather than revealing nudes.

"The whole idea is to try to continue to move away from one-size-fits-all'' screening, Mr. Pistole said in an interview. "We are doing this to try to improve the passenger experience without diminishing the layers of security we have.''

http://tinyurl.com/3qxujt8
 
Dave- I went through Denver TSA yesterday- what a bunch of fools. Giving contradictory instructions, complaining when a passenger opted out of the scanner for the pat-down (signs all over the place signed by John Pistole telling pax they could opt-out). Wal-mart check-out lines are much better managed than the TSA lines.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Dave- I went through Denver TSA yesterday- what a bunch of fools. Giving contradictory instructions, complaining when a passenger opted out of the scanner for the pat-down (signs all over the place signed by John Pistole telling pax they could opt-out). Wal-mart check-out lines are much better managed than the TSA lines.
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I'm not a fan as you have probably picked up in my posts. I'm a war vet with awards evidencing my service; yet, I go to an airport and am treated like a potential terrorist. So, I don't go if there's any way to avoid it.

This is a somewhat positive step. Let's start focusing on those that might actually have a terrorist motive to begin.

Best,

Dave
 
Jaybird180 said:
After reading his post of the incident I COMPLETELY disagree that he was playing "the race card". And Dell and Bill for starting this whole shenanigans should be banished to the SZ forever.
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I would like to point out that the title of his blog entry is "Racial Profiling First Hand"

Racial Profiling First Hand
Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Racial Profiling First Hand...FWB&RAAB...

You have to read through the letter below, sent to the ACLU, United/Continental Airlines, and/or a willing private lawyer (anybody?) to get to the meaning of the acronym.
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In the bottom of the article he states FWB and RAAB stands for:

Flying While Black & Reading Antique Aviation Books



I didn't make that up to stir the pot!
 
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Dave Siciliano said:
TSA Administrator John Pistole promises the U.S. is finally moving toward smarter checkpoint security rather than treating everyone the same. This fall, the TSA will test a "trusted traveler'' program in Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and Detroit, with expedited screening for select frequent fliers of American and Delta airlines who are willing to turn over background information.
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Selected people who are frequent fliers of selected airlines out of selected airports. What is that like 100 people? What a joke.
 
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