Careful with the border guards....

[hackish 8]

This is a bit of a rant but safety related all the same.

Today I drove down to NYC from Ottawa, Canada. I'd like to do a jump or two at the ranch if the weather is good so I brought my rig and all my equipment.

The border guards wanted to search my car so I told them that there was a parachute in the luggage in the trunk, it is a life saving device and it was very important that it be very carefully handled etc etc etc. They would not allow me to be present or watch as they searched the car because it's against their policy. I wasn`t able to keep an eagle eye on what they were doing.

This evening, arriving at my hotel I opened my luggage. They`d gone through everything. The pilot chute was still intact but the main pin was popped. and the bridle 1/2 pulled out. The cutaway handle had been pulled and then stuck back in place (obvious because of the cables being visible. One 3 ring was released because of this. The reserve handle was also out of its velcro but fortunately not pulled.

I understand that US Customs has a right to bend you over and search every nook and cranny of your car, luggage or whatever but this just simply does not seem right. Should a wuffo customs agent have the right to dick around with your rig in a way that could kill you?

I can't imagine any malice involved - just someone who doesn't understand how to handle a rig, oops, this red thing came off, I'll stick it back where it goes...

I'll repack the main and triple check everything before I jump it but I'm still a little pissed off about this incident.

Maybe the USPA could get involved with homeland security and work on a published SOP of them when dealing with parachutes during a border (non-airport) search.

-Michael

[JohnDeere 0]

That sucks and should be reported to Homeland security! I would feel violated if this happened to me!

Nothing opens like a Deere!

You ignorant fool! Checks are for workers!

[wolfriverjoe 1,351]

Why didn't you check the rig at the border, right after the inspection?

You could then have gone back, asked for a supervisor and asked why your rig had been tampered with.

Some of them are dicks but for the most part, if you are calm and reasonable, they will listen and be soemwhat responsive to complaints of this sort.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

I wonder what the FAA would have to say? I wonder if the FAA thinks it is fine if border inspectors do an equivalent degree of tampering with an aircraft during a similar inspection.

Suggest that you write polite, detailed, letter to Homeland Security AND SEND A COPY TO USPA GOVT AFFAIRS.

I wonder if denying you the opportunity to be present is truly policy or simply BS that the inspector used to keep you out of his/her hair.

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[DSE 3]

Quote

That sucks and should be reported to Homeland security! I would feel violated if this happened to me!

Customs is not the same as Homeland Security.
When you're going through Customs, you're in no-man's land.
Yes, they have the right. however, if you didn't look at it immediately following their inspection, then the onus is on you.
Unfortunate, but true.
FWIW, I have a shitload more trouble going in/out of Canadian Customs with a rig than almost anywhere else. They always seem to think I'm selling the rig or wingsuit.

[hackish 8]

Sorry, these guys were homeland security. The last time I went down I happened to get a border guard who had done 30-40 jumps and he actually knew how to handle a rig so I was happy with that.

This time I got captain Dick. I've learned that they're not the people to piss off lest they volunteer me for a rectal exam for every next time I want to get into the USA.

I think the solution lies in ensuring the policymakers understand and write proper policies for handling our stuff. If that were in place then it would be simple to tell them to go look at SOP #12345 on what to do in the case they need to inspect a parachute.

-Michael

[DSE 3]

If it's Homeland Security, politely ask for a supervisor. Explain (respectfully) what your situation is.
This technique has served me well from Australia to New Zealand to various areas in EU, and the most difficult of all, Israel.

[Travman 6]

I'd ask to see where their policy says you can't be present during the search.

[lost_n_confuzd 0]

When DHS was formed the Immigration and Naturalization Service was split in to three seperate agencies. Now we have the Border Patrol, USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Three completely different agencies with different missions that are all part of "Homeland Security".

[tombuch 0]

Welcome to the United States...

As others have said, you are basically at the mercy of whatever security person happens to be inspecting you stuff, but you can call for a supervisor. That might make things worse, or it might help. There is really no way to tell what the real objective of an inspection is, or whether you are dealing with an honest law enforcement officer (most are), or an individual/agency simply on a power trip.

The United States has more police agencies than I can possibly list (or even know about), from tiny small town constables, to secret teams buried in obscure parts of obscure federal agencies. They can all jack you up. It sucks, and it ain't freedom.

Back in 2006 there were some unique threats and the New York City police department was conducting random inspections of bags on subways, buses, and trains. I was the Safety and Training Adviser at The Ranch in nearby Gardiner New York. Several of our jumpers asked me to liaison with NYPD and find a way to protect their rigs from invasive inspections. I spoke with the NYPD training division, and they were interested in how to handle a rig, mostly because it presented a challenge to balance security inspections with respect for the public. They said they would incorporate inspection guidelines into their training, but probably never followed though on that.

NYPD acknowledged that most officers wouldn't know what a rig is, but that most would be interested just 'cause police are by nature curious people. They suggested our club members carry a membership card of some kind and just be willing to help the officers understand what was in the pack, and why it shouldn't be opened. They also acknowledged they do have some power trippers on the force as any large organization does.

With the support of NYPD I wrote a briefing paper about the regulations under which parachutes are packed and used. Club members were provided with a copy and I posted it here. One guy even put it on mock USPA letterhead and reposted it (which I didn't approve, but what was done, was done). I heard back from several people that it was an effective aid with customs and with TSA airports screeners. I never heard of an NYPD officer actually asking to inspect a rig.

In any event, I have attached the original data sheet to this post. It might help somebody else.

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[Rdutch 0]

Think its bad now, wait till just one genius with a seal press gets the idea that it would be a great idea to use a rig to smuggle drugs or something into the country and gets caught.

Ray
Small and fast what every girl dreams of!

[riggerrob 558]

Quote

Think its bad now, wait till just one genius with a seal press gets the idea that it would be a great idea to use a rig to smuggle drugs or something into the country and gets caught.

..................................................................

Shhh!

Stop giving the bad guys ideas.

[riggerrob 558]

My experiences with border guards avry widely.

The funniest was when I left the Schwieghofen DZ early one Sunday afternoon, because it was too windy.
A French border guard asked me what I had been doing. As soon as he heard that I had been parachuting, he asked to look in the trunk of my car.
I immediately started worrying if he had seen me land on the wrong side of the border the week before .. or any of another dozen un-reported sins????

It turned out that the French border guard was bored and welcomed a chance to reminice about his days as a paratrooper twenty years earlier.
Hah!
Hah!

[DSE 3]

Quote

When DHS was formed the Immigration and Naturalization Service was split in to three seperate agencies. Now we have the Border Patrol, USCIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services) and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Three completely different agencies with different missions that are all part of "Homeland Security".

Thanks for the clarification. When entering the US from Alberta, there are no Homeland Security emblems (probably just a funding/timeliness issue).
either way, when you're in Customs, you're still in no-mans land. Virtually no rights, just the ability to ask nice, careful questions.

[Andy9o8 0]

Quote

I have a shitload more trouble going in/out of Canadian Customs with a rig than almost anywhere else. They always seem to think I'm selling the rig or wingsuit.

Pardon the digression; but I'm curious whether you ever got the sense that you were being singled out either for your N.A. name and/or your hairstyle?

[Smirniof 0]

It looks like you are not alone .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meGJ0Wiou3U

[skyjumpenfool 2]

Quote

It looks like you are not alone .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meGJ0Wiou3U

Birdshit & Fools Productions

"Son, only two things fall from the sky."

[mrbiceps 0]

I would have stood my ground and told them that no one touches my rig unless i am there to watch them. If they are not happy with this then go and get the supervisor. My rig is my life and no one touches it unless i am watching them... Unless its my dam 2 year old who went for a low pull the other day when i SHOULD have been watching her...

[timmyfitz 0]

Quote

I would have stood my ground and told them that no one touches my rig unless i am there to watch them. If they are not happy with this then go and get the supervisor. My rig is my life and no one touches it unless i am watching them...

LOL. You tell em you big toughy.

[billvon 2,435]

>I would have stood my ground and told them that no one touches my
>rig unless i am there to watch them.

In that case you might find your rig "detained" while they do a more thorough examination on it. Nothing like making a stink over a container packed with something to make border guards take a slightly closer look.

> If they are not happy with this then go and get the supervisor.

"I demand to speak to the supervisor!"
"Sure, we'll go get him when we get a chance. Meanwhile we're going to check out this rig you seem so nervous about."

[pchapman 262]

Quote

>I would have stood my ground and told them that no one touches my
>rig unless i am there to watch them.

In that case you might find your rig "detained" while they do a more thorough examination on it. Nothing like making a stink over a container packed with something to make border guards take a slightly closer look.

I don't know if it would help, but if I told some guys with guns "don't touch it!" I'd also tell them, "But feel free to mm wave scan it, x-ray it, swab it, have drug dogs sniff it, ...."

[robinheid 0]

Quote

Quote

>I would have stood my ground and told them that no one touches my
>rig unless i am there to watch them.

In that case you might find your rig "detained" while they do a more thorough examination on it. Nothing like making a stink over a container packed with something to make border guards take a slightly closer look.

I don't know if it would help, but if I told some guys with guns "don't touch it!" I'd also tell them, "But feel free to mm wave scan it, x-ray it, swab it, have drug dogs sniff it, ...."

+1

gotta give the guard dogs something to eat...

plus it tells them you understand their job and a little sympatico can go a long way toward making your crossing civil.

SCR-6933 / SCS-3463 / D-5533 / BASE 44 / CCS-37 / 82d Airborne (Ret.)

"The beginning of wisdom is to first call things by their right names."

[dorbie 0]

Can't avoid this IMHO, you can complain but parachutes cannot be the no-go area for customs, and there will never be an operating procedure that says don't look inside for obvious reasons.

Probably best not to mention your rig at all, the way they think it's just going to raise their interest and wonder why you mentioned it.

[mrbiceps 0]

Well im sorry for being so nervous about a 2 bit security guard who has never seen a rig before messing with mine when my life depends on it. I dont give a shit if he has a gun or not. Any reasonable person should understand why u would be concerned.
p.s. I myself am also a 2 bit security guard...

[JerryBaumchen 1,066]

Hi mrb,

I do not know how much international travel you have done but, in this country, those border folks can deny you entry.

Raise all the H*** you want, but when you are on a plane back to Australia you might want to reconsider your comments.

JerryBaumchen