Gr8Scott

Blue skies my friend. You will be missed.

I too knew Fruce from Cross Keys and am saddened by the news of his passing. I had lost touch with him when he moved West but will always remember the fun times and friendship while he was back East. Blue skies my friend. You will be missed. Scott

Kelly Thank you for starting this thread. YOU ROCK. After all, Reed was one of us. Mark, Thank you for posting here., Please encourage Reed's friends and family to come by and view the posts, tell us more about Reed, and share their memories with us. My deepest condolensces to his friends and family. Scott M. Cross Keys Controlled Descent 4-way Formation Skydiving Team

PJ's razor sharp wit and pointed sarcasm will truly be missed. As will his dedication to passing along his wisdom and making everyone's day that the DZ as enjoyable as it could be. How he came up with some of the stuff that he did I'll never know. Blue ones my friend, Scott Cross Keys Controlled Descent - Point

Go to the USPA website and go to the section on travelling with your rig. Whether you carry it on or not print out a copy of te TSA regulations regarding travelling with parachute. If you check it put it on top of your rig in a gearbag along with your travel itinerary. Some airports make you take your checked baggage to the TSA security screeners. If you do that make sure you stand by until they are done inspecting it. You want to be present in case they have any questions. Per their regualations YOU MUST BE PRESENT to assist if they want to open it up and inspect it. There is nothing that says they can not make you open it. However, 99.99999999% of the time this is avoided by being curteous, explaining it is a parachute, providing the Cypress card if necessary, and a copy of teh TSA statute if necessary. If they still insist on opening the reserve ASK FOR A SUPERVISOR, be courteous, and explain that it's a parachute. If you check your rig and the TSA opens it without you, contact Ed Scott at USPA immediately for assistance in filing a claim with the TSA. Been there done tat check check out my ordeal here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=917382;search_string=TSA%20reserve;guest=20123549#917382 Scott Been there done that got the reimbursemt check.

This is truly sad. My condolensces to the friends and family of Ron and Sarah. I did not know Ron but from the posts above I wish I had. Sarah was a truly remarkable person. I will always remember her perpetual smile, positive attitude. and enthusiasm. I can not remember ever seeing a frown on her face. I'll never forget the first time I saw her with a tandem rig on. I was truly impressed. It seemed like just the other day she was working in manifest. Perpetual Blue Skies Ron & Sarah. Scott Cross Keys Traffic - Front/Front Floater Controled Descent - Outside Center

It's been done. Sometimes successfully and, as you can see from some of the posts, sometimes with not so graceful outcomes. Saw someone attempt this last year and he ended up getting a helicopter ride out of it to the local trauma center. If you're at a DZ and see something like this taking place I have the following suggestion: Pull out your cellphone, dial "91" and get ready to dial the last "1"

Hi, I recently had my pin cut and the TSA was very responsive in dealing with the matter. If you are looking for guideliness for travelling with your rig you can go to USPA or TSA websites or the following URL: http://www.flybirdman.com/tsa/ Kevin has put pictures and a summary of what happened and links to the TSA website where you can get a copy of their bulletin. You can go to: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=941289;page=2;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25; to see a post I made regarding my experience and my (very positive) experience with the claim process with the TSA after the fact. Scott

Hi All, Scott here, the guy that got his pin cut. Just a posting a follow up to let you know how things are going. I faxed my claim to the TSA yesterday, 2/24, and literally the same day got a confirmation that my claim was approved for payment. For more info and other details of my experience go to: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=941289;page=2;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25; Also, you can go to http://www.flybirdman.com/tsa to see pictures and some sugestions that may help you avoid the same fate. Thanks to KEVIN922 for putting that on his site. Scott

Hello All, Yup...I'm the guy who had his pin cut. The reason I answered this particular post was to let everyone know I didn't have to jump through any hoops to get reimbursed. It sucked BIG TIME that my pin got cut. However, the reimbursement process has been pretty painless so far (fingers crossed). When in Thailand I Emailed USPA. Ed Scott got the ball rolling. As DIVERDRIVER mentioned, Ed is fantastic with his contacts at TSA. His regular contact was travelling but eventually he saw the message and forwarded it. I got an Email the same day the message was forwarded. I faxed my claim form to the contact at the TSA yesterday (Tuesday 2/24) at about 4:30 PM. Literally seconds after I got the beep that the fax had gone through I got a phone call from one of his associates, calling to confirm some info. At 4:46 PM I got a return fax with a claim number. By 4:52 PM I had an Email from the main contact confirming that my claim had been approved for payment. When I first spoke to the TSA contact he told me that the approval process would be pretty quick. He also gave me a heads up that the check may take a while. He also mentioned that the TSA takes these incidents very seriously because of the possibility of someone being injured or killed if their parachute's damaged. That may be the reason for the memo JLMIRACLE mentions that was referenced on Monday. Remember, this happened back on January 20. My total claim was for $124.23 (USD) ($55 for the repack and $69.23 for the reserve handle). I had a receipt for the handle but not the repack. I sent them copies of invoices for previous repacks to show that $55 was not unreasonable. $50 is what I usually pay for a repack. While in Bangkok I found someone with a replacement handle and a rigger to inspect and repack everything before the mass jump into Bangkok. So, I was able to have my own gear for the entire World Team '04 event. I was very appreciative that the rigger didn't try to take me for everything I had. I had a friend who had a cutaway at a boogie and was charged an "Emergency Boogie Repack Rate" of $75. My main goal and the reason for my original post on the Ranch website and the various posts on dropzone.com is to get the information out so people can avoid what happened to me. I think Kevin has done a good job with his website to help spread the word. I also think this would make a good topic to cover briefly during Safety Day. If anyone wants copies of the pictures for a Safety Day presentation or general discussion just Email me at: [email protected]. I don't think parachute inspection is the first thing they teach new TSA trainees. Also, I'm sure not many know what one looks like until they see one for the first time. So, anything we can do to make the process easier (carrying a copy of the TSA bulletin, packing weights seperately, carrying cypress cards, etc., etc) will help. Also, if you read the memo, there is nothing that says they can't make you open the reserve, just that you have to be present and assist. So, be polite and refer to the bulletin or ask for a supervisorif necessary. FYI: I'm not making excuses for the inspectors that cut my pin. They were clearly in the wrong and this whole thing could have been avoided if they just followed procedures and paged me. However, I believe what probably caused them to open the bag was the fact that I placed my weight belt under the rig in the gearbag. Also, at Newark (EWR) terminal C, you carry your checked bags to the TSA screening area. I handed my bags to the screener and proceeded to the terminal area. I should have waited and watched them screen it. What really sucks is that when I got to the security check point for the terminal area I knew the guy working the metal detector. He used to work behind the counter at the airport where I got my Private Pilot license. He remembered me being a skydiver. I would not have had a problem with the rig there. However, the main reason I checked the rig was because I didn't know what to expect when I transferred in Tokyo. Blue Skies and Happy (Pin Intact) Travelling, Scott

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

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

No problem John I was going to post it here last night but ya beat me to it. Somehow I misplaced my Post-It note with my Username and Password so I had to create a new one. Some additional info: In addition to cutting the pin the TSA compressed the pilot chute and wrapped it in tape to keep it compressed. Luckily we did not damage the pilot chute when we removed the tape. Also, the riggers seal was still intact even after they cut the pin. I have pictures if anyone wants to see them or wants copies for a Safety Day seminar or something. Just Email me at: [email protected]. I tried to upload them but they are too big. I'll try to compress a few and post them here. Ed Scott at at USPA informs me that he forwarded my info to his contact at the TSA January 27 and then again on February 10. He has also called his contact but has not heard back yet. He told me his contact usually responds pretty quick and contacts the skydiver directly. My only thought is that one of the pictures I sent to USPA was of me holding the TSA "Notice of Baggage Inspection" card and flashing the "New Jersey State Bird". This may have been accidentally forwarded to the TSA. They may be taking it a little personally. To which I say...deal with it. How do you think I felt when I opened my bag Regarding sealing bags: I seal my checked bags with electrical wire ties. They're cheap and easy to use. I bring a bunch of spares for the trip back. I put a lock on a bag once and they cut it off.