TSA says that all rigs must be unpacked/inspected - main & reserve (Columbus, OH)

[jumpingjoe 0]

I flew out of Tampa about a week and a half ago. I checked my rig in my gear bag and only left my helmet and jumpsuit in the bag. I had no problems. I even told the woman that it was a skydiving rig and to get me if there were any issues. She visually inspected the bag and said that she didn't see any issues. No problems at all.

[ACMESkydiver 0]

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A clicky straight to the TSA's website showing that letter.

Thanks for the clicky, Ivan.

~Jaye
Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

[Vertifly 0]

On my flight back from Puerto Rico I checked a rig inside of my luggage.

Upon arriving home, I noticed a pamphlet inside of my bag stating that it had been opened and inspected. Luckily my repack seal was not broken and the rig was not unpacked either.

The funny part is that ALL of my clothes were dirty. NO, not just dirty, but very stinky and dirty from the Puerto Rico heat that made me sweat my ass off all week. LOL The stench that must have come out of the bag when they needed to open and inspect must have been nasty. I wish to have been a fly on the wall when they opened it.

Note to self, always pack my rig away with the dirty clothes. YUKKKK!!!!

[sundevil777 93]

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Cliff are you on the road now? I might go over at lunch and talk to the TSA and see if I can't clear things up since I plan on traveling with my rig a lot this summer.

Yes, I'm in LA now (so is the rain).

I'm headed to Phoenix Friday to see family and jump.

Hopefully the bozo TSA supervisor was just full of shit about the new policy. Of course the old policy allowed them to require a full search if they want. I just wanted to know if they were doing it because they suspect me, or if it was really SOP. Maybe he just didn't want to admit that he was 'picking' on me.

Cliff

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[Gr8Scott 0]

I've cut and pasted your post and sent it to Ed Scott at USPA. He and I have been in contact regarding my incident out of Newark, New Jersey (EWR), on my way to Thailand for World Team '04. My reserve pin was cut (see earlier post on the whole thing).

When I hear back I will post his reply, unless someone else hears back before me.

When travelling, Carry a copy of the TSA bulletin that is on their website. There is nothing in the bulletin that says they CAN'T make you pop your reserve. Just that you have to be present and assist. Therefore, be courteous, ask for the supervisor if the inspector wants you to pop it. Kindly ask for the swab test.

If you check the bag put a copy of the bulletin on top of your rig in the bag.

As mentioned in a previous post: The TSA is not responsible for insuring your rig is safe to jump. They are responsible for making sure that there is nothing in there that could harm the folks on the plane. Murder would be out of the question. However, if any legal eagles want to chime in please do,...I would think the best you could do, if anything, is involuntary manslaughter if they did not follow their own proceedures and have you present during the inspection.

Regarding my ordeal. I received an Email from the Manager of the TSA claims office today. I will be contacting him tomorrow. I also got a copy of a reply to Ed SCott from one of his contacts. My original Email has been through a few peoples hands and it seems like they are genuinely concerned about stuff like this, at least in the TSA front office. I'll keep ya posted.

Scott

[sundevil777 93]

Thanks for sending the info on my trouble to USPA.

I did show the clown the TSA letter, but he said that it had been superseded, so what was I to do?

I really think he just wanted to do it on his own discretion that is within his authority. We face that discretion/risk every time we go through this, I just would like to make sure that he really was full of shit when he claimed there was a new policy (he said only 2-3 weeks old).

I wrote the clown's name somewhere, I'll post it when I find it, or when I go back on Sunday I'll confirm his name with the local TSA guys.

I really like the way that Tracy Ullman would ridicule airport security guards on her show.

Cliff

People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

[freakyrat 1]

Every airport has a TSA Federal Security Director. The name of the Federal Security Director for the Columbus, Ohio airport is Mr. Thomas Rice. Write him a letter with your complaint along with a copy to Ed Scott. Send Mr. Rice all your documentation including the TSA and Cypres letters in regards to parachutes. Also give him information of your background in skydiving or avaition or both. I did this when I had problems in Palm Springs and it ended up being a 13 page letter with pictures of my gear and all documentation etc. It worked real well I even mentioned how Cypres was approved etc with the help of the Safety Director of Southwest Airlines etc. The outcome from all this was very good as the screeners at Palm Springs are now trained better in regard to parachutes/Cypres etc. Hope this helps.

Chris

[Gr8Scott 0]

Ed SCott's reply to my Email:

Hi Scott,
I saw the post on dz.com yesterday and queried TSA. I quickly received
assurance that no change has occurred; parachutes with and without AADs
are accepted as both carry-on and checked items. In most instances,
they
should only be opened by TSA when trace detection (a swab) indicates a
problem. And then, they should only be opened in the presence of the
rig
owner. (The exceptions would be at small commercial airports that don't
yet have the scanning machines for checked bags. At those airports,
checked bags are randomly opened for inspection. Still, TSA is supposed
to page the rig owner before they open it. This is why USPA recommends
that rigs be carried-on.) I was told that TSA would communicate this to
the screeners at Columbus.

Ed

[ojf1982 0]

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Ed SCott's reply to my Email:

I was told that TSA would communicate this to
the screeners at Columbus.

Ed

wasnt this supposed to have been communicated before hand? thats govt beauracracy for you

The edge ... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who know where it is are those that have gone over - Hunter S. Thompson

[skyblu 0]

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In this case I would say to look up the TSA contact information (before you go to the airport) for the state/ part of the country you are in (TSA.gov), give 'em a call right there on the spot, and take up your problem with them.

I looked and I couldn't find specific TSA info per state/part of the country. Could you please post the link for easy referrence. (It's probably in the one place I didn't look )

[jlmiracle 7]

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Ed SCott's reply to my Email:

I was told that TSA would communicate this to
the screeners at Columbus.

Ed

wasnt this supposed to have been communicated before hand? thats govt beauracracy for you

I flew out of LAX yesterday and they said they had a NEW procedure for parachutes. They have just been given the new SPO for parachutes which include NOT CUTTING anything. The TSA lady told me that, and she was very nice.

Judy

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

[LoudDan 0]

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TSA Contact Center toll-free at 1-866-289-9673 during the following hours of operation (All times are Eastern Standard Time):

Monday thru Friday 8 am - 10 pm

Saturday Sunday and Holidays 10 am - 6 pm

Coming soon to a bowl of Wheaties near you!!

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