Welcome to Bizzarro World

[Richard]

My room mate has non-CASS jumpseat privledges through his employer. He uses the same to go home often. The last flight a main tire fell off the aircraft after take-off. They returned for a landing but the one guy who could change the tire wasn't qualified under Part 121. So the plane was grounded--with pax sitting in the terminal--while the mechanic went for a urine drug test and waited for the results. 5 hours later the plane was back in the air but missed all connecting flights. But hey, the guy got 121 qual'd for free!

This time around my room mate was boarded in uniform--which is an automatic pat down per TSA due to open cockpit--but because the gate agent's computer software didn't print out the SSSS (full search for non-revenue) my room mate was boarded without having to endure a full search of his person and luggage. The station mgr caught the error and called the plane back to the gate. They deboarded my room mate then realized they would have to deboard the entire plane..... I can imagine the pax throwing food at my room mate for the debacle except they don't serve food. At least a 3 hour layover at KPHX was only a two hour after all this.

 

[Shipoke]

Richard sounds to like your roommate is not supposed to fly Comm. tell him to get his ticket and BUY A PLANE (lol).then you can borrow it and fly it.
Dave G.

 

[Larryo]

My room mate has non-CASS jumpseat privledges through his employer. He uses the same to go home often. The last flight a main tire fell off the aircraft after take-off. They returned for a landing but the one guy who could change the tire wasn't qualified under Part 121. So the plane was grounded--with pax sitting in the terminal--while the mechanic went for a urine drug test and waited for the results. 5 hours later the plane was back in the air but missed all connecting flights. But hey, the guy got 121 qual'd for free!

This time around my room mate was boarded in uniform--which is an automatic pat down per TSA due to open cockpit--but because the gate agent's computer software didn't print out the SSSS (full search for non-revenue) my room mate was boarded without having to endure a full search of his person and luggage. The station mgr caught the error and called the plane back to the gate. They deboarded my room mate then realized they would have to deboard the entire plane..... I can imagine the pax throwing food at my room mate for the debacle except they don't serve food. At least a 3 hour layover at KPHX was only a two hour after all this.

Something is absolutely wrong here. I've never heard of a full search for non rev and have never had such BS ever in my career and non rev'd 3 or 4 times a month. My philosophy was that IF they want a full search, I went home... the hell with it, life is too short for this crap. Now, I've been in the security office a few time, but NEVER did the full search, and I never will

 

[Teller1900]

If he's non-reving on someone else's bennies, he should be able to have the SSSS removed from his ticket; it is absolutely NOT a requirement of non-reving. I always tell my wife, parents, and anyone using my buddy passes to ask to have that removed at the ticket counter, and it's never been a problem to have it done. If he's on his own employee privledges, no way he sould be a special selectee; and the TSA isn't supposed to pull pax off a plane unless they have a credible threat, and even then it should probably be local authorities not an over-hyped rent-a-cop.

 

[Richard]

Teller, my room mate is using his own privleges. Also, this 121 regional airline has an "open cockpit", which I gather to mean there is no door separating the cabin from the cockpit. Do those things make a difference?

 

[Teller1900]

Teller, my room mate is using his own privleges. Also, this 121 regional airline has an "open cockpit", which I gather to mean there is no door separating the cabin from the cockpit. Do those things make a difference?

Nope, no difference. We had an "open cockpit" in the 1900. The TSA doesn't differentiate between a/c types, if for no other reason than they can't ask everyone at the checkpoint in BOS/LGA/IAD/etc what kind of plane they're getting on. Screening rules are screening rules. Some places take it a little more seriously than other (in my experience the smaller airports will search bags more thoroughly than the larger airports) but that has nothing to do with the special selectee procedures (the SSSSS) and everything to do with the narrow ratio of screeners to pax. All that means is that they're more likely to open your bags and swab for explosives, but certainly not conduct full searches.

The only time they should do a full search (that I know of, and there may be more) is when a) you alarm 3 times on the metal detector, or b)when you're a selectee. The SSSS is assigned randomly by the computer, though it does tend to hit non-revs more often. It's up to the ticket/gate agent, though...they can force remove it and usually do for non-revs and should for employees, especially if they're in uniform. And again, the TSA should never remove a pax. If they don't get you at screening, they're SOL unless the crew asks for them to intervene. And they're never never supposed to delay a flight. Once the door is closed, the TSA should be DONE without the crew asked to have the guy rescreened.

As best as I understand it, someone misinterpreted a rule here, or overstepped their bounds. If he's non-reving in uniform, he absolutly doesn't have to be a selectee, and really probably shouldn't be one. The screening rules and procedures should be the same no matter what airport, or what aircraft type. The pax shouldn't be screened any differently on the 1900, or a 402 (Cape Air) than they are on the heavy metal.

What type was he on? That I know of, the only 121s left with non-balistic cockpit doors are the 1900 operators (us and Great Lakes), and Cape Air with their Cessna 402s.

Now I say all this, but of course the TSA rules and procedures aren't published anywhere (because then the terrorists would have already won [/sz]), so maybe they were operating under some strange sub-sub-sub paragraph that's seldome used and lets them call a plane back when they think they f-ed up, but I've certainly never heard of that happening, and I would be asking some questions if I were him or the crew of that plane.