[Infowarrior] - TSA inspector damages 9 commuter planes

[Richard Forno]

  Commuter Flights Grounded Thanks To Bumbling TSA Inspector

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=340a79d6-839a-470d-b662-944325cea23d

Wed, 20 Aug '08

Damaged TAT Probes On Nine Jets While Conducting 'Security Checks'

They're the government... and remember, they're here to help. A  
bumbling inspector with the Transportation Safety Administration  
apparently has some explaining to do, after nine American Eagle  
regional jets were grounded at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport  
on Tuesday.

Citing sources within the aviation industry, ABC News reports an  
overzealous TSA employee attempted to gain access to the parked  
aircraft by climbing up the fuselage... reportedly using the Total Air  
Temperature (TAT) probes mounted to the planes' noses as handholds.

"The brilliant employees used an instrument located just below the  
cockpit window that is critical to the operation of the onboard  
computers," one pilot wrote on an American Eagle internet forum. "They  
decided this instrument, the TAT probe, would be adequate to use as a  
ladder."

Officials with American Eagle confirmed to ANN the problem was  
discovered by maintenance personnel, who inspected the planes Tuesday  
morning... and questioned why the TAT probes all gave similar error  
indications.

One Eagle pilot says had the pilots not been so attentive, the damaged  
probes could have caused problems inflight. TSA agents "are now doing  
things to our aircraft that may put our lives, and the lives of our  
passengers at risk," the pilot wrote on the forum.

Grounding the planes to replace the TAT probes affected about 40  
flights, according to American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances. "We  
think it's an unfortunate situation," she told ABCNews.com.

  TSA conducts routine spot inspections of aircraft parked at  
commercial airports, according to agency spokesman Elio Montenegro.  
"Our inspector was following routine procedure for securing the  
aircraft that were on the tarmac," Montenegro said, adding the  
inspector was attempting to determine whether someone could break into  
the parked planes.

Pilots respond that agents are only allowed to check for unlocked  
cabin doors... a clear security risk, that could indeed compromise  
security. Indeed, regional airline Mesa Air Group notes "48 percent of  
all TSA investigations involving Mesa Air Group involve a failure to  
maintain area/aircraft security."

It's unclear whether that duty also allows an inspector to paw around  
an aircraft, however.

E-I-C Note: This was an extraordinarily dangerous incident, folks. The  
TSA has neither the mandate nor the knowledge to inspect any aircraft  
for any reason. The stupidity of this matter is nearly unbelievable...  
until you hear that the TSA is involved... then it becomes  
understandable, though still tragic. And I can not tell you how  
frustrating it is, to see them continue to hurt an indsutry that they  
were created to protect.

The TSA has NO BUSINESS putting untrained personnel in a position to  
damage aircraft. Their bizarre games, in the name of security, do  
NOTHING to enhance security and do much to inhibit safety. Aviation  
personnel -- pilots, A&P's, ground personnel -- are all either  
licensed or supervised by licensed personnel and this kind of  
tampering, had it been accomplished by anyone  else, would have  
subjected that person to criminal charges.

In this case, ANN strongly recommends and encourages the criminal  
prosecution of this so-called inspector and his immediate  
supervisors... it is a matter of time before one of these morons does  
something stupid and gets someone killed... and with the way these  
incidents are occurring, we believe it is a virtual certainty that a  
TSA "Inpector" will hurt or kill someone in such a manner. No kidding.

A few other notes.. ANN spoke directly to the TSA PAO in this story,  
Elio Montenegro... a man who desperately needs to get his stories  
straight. When ANN talked to him early Tuesday evening, Montenegro  
first stated that no aircraft were tampered with, and thereafter  
attempted to minimize the issue by stating that a TSA Inspector "may  
have touched" the aircraft... which American Eagle "sorta" objected  
to. He claimed that there was no attempt to enter the aircraft, and  
when he was asked if TSA was, in fact, authorized to attempt such an  
entry -- out of the sight/knowledge/supervision of American Eagle  
personnel -- he said that he thought that I had asked a good question,  
did not know the answer, and promised to get back to me... in direct  
conflict with other reported statements. TSA can not keep their  
stories straight... and lying to the media... especially that part of  
the media that actually knows a thing or two about airplanes, was just  
plain foolish... if not a deliberate attempt to mislead.

Mind you, this is the same agency that now wants to step up  
supervision and surveillance of the GA world. Would you trust these  
kind of folks around your airplane?

I sure do not, and will not -- and the first time that I see a TSA  
person attempt any interaction with any aircraft under my control, I  
will call the cops and do my utmost to see that person charged with a  
crime... TSA can not be trusted around Air Transport airplanes...  
hell, TSA can not be trusted around GA... and TSA has shown us little  
or no reason why they should be trusted, in any way, with the security  
of the traveling public.

We're fed up with the incompetence of this organization... and while  
it was simply 'annoying' when they were sniffing our shoes or trying  
to rip off our laptops, it gets downright threatening when they start  
tampering with our airplanes.

Yes... this is quite the rant and I admit to no end of frustration  
with this organization... but I have to tell you, it's time to scrap  
the TSA and failing that, it is WAY past time that they be SEVERELY  
curtailed in their ability to harm others. Simply put, it's time to  
reign in the TSA... before they kill someone... if they haven't already.

Rant over... for now. -- Jim Campbell, ANN E-I-C.