X-ray machines fail to detect assault weapon

[zefflyn]

Trying to identify figures in an x-ray is harder than it looks. WAY more harder than it looks. The most identifiable parts I can tell were the barrel and springs in the magazine.

Yep. There was some quiz on the internet that showed pictures of random stuff on an x-ray machine, and had you guess whether it was dangerous or not.

When I flew last week, I put my Surefire flashlight in my carry-on. Even though I was one of the random-flags for detailed screening, they either didn't notice it, or didn't care.

[dwtt]

Someone needs to email the "author" of this article.

That would be a waste of time. The writers, William Kleinknecht and Ron Marsico, won't care about what any gun owner wants to say.

[Sgt Raven]

Yep. There was some quiz on the internet that showed pictures of random stuff on an x-ray machine, and had you guess whether it was dangerous or not.

When I flew last week, I put my Surefire flashlight in my carry-on. Even though I was one of the random-flags for detailed screening, they either didn't notice it, or didn't care.

Last weekend I had 2 surefires plus spare battery/bulb case in my carry on. The screener stoped the line and looked at it for a few seconds then let it go thru. Or it could have been the cell phone and watch or something else in it.

[jdberger]

Items do not have to be metal to be seen by an x-ray machine. They just have to have mass. I've x-rayed a stainless steel thermos and could see the level of coffee inside.

<slips tinfoil hat on> and what are you??? Coffee police?? Where's you're freakin warrant???

[MysteryCereal]

I work at SAN airport and we are not just taught to look for metal, but large plastic masses. Which happen to show up quite well, actually, on the screen. Plastics(explosives) are the main thing we are looking for. Just my .02

[wuhungsix]

Guns of any sort are no brainers on the x-ray. This story is BS. Expeirenced TSA screeners don't look twice at flashlights. The main focus now are explosives, thats why the policy on sissors and tools have been relaxed. Picking out .22lr rounds can be difficult when loose in a bag but 30.06 shows up plain as day. X-rays are difficult to interpret. They show in certain colors that help a operator distinguish what they maybe composed of. This is certainly not your x-ray at the docs office. The pictures can be very abstract and you need to use imagination to function behind that machine. Let me tell you, a hair dryer is a whole other creature when x-rayed.

Screeners are not involved in the computer selection of additional screening. Screeners are also not allowed to tell you why you have been selected. You may hear the word "random," it is not. Most screeners will only know a few of the more common reasons but most likely they are just as in the dark as you are. Shoes are a concern because of people like Richard REID.

I don't appreciate wise cracks when it comes to screeners. They just do as they are told. Policies are from high above and beyond the management at airports. I admit, the mix of screeners vary from professional intelligent individuals to your bottom of the barrel applicants, but they all are working for you. Pay is poor, hours are long, and moral is low and very little thanks are given in this job. Sure you have bad apples but its the same everywhere you go. When your pay is low quality individuals are hard to come by. If you ever feel like a screener was rude or out to get you, by all means ask for a supervisor and complain. Thats your right.


Guess who I work for. After 9/11 I felt that I could contribute somewhere somehow. I was in college when the towers fell and we all remember where we were that morning. Shortly after graduating I was layed off by Gov. Davis and found myself applying for TSA. I am now on collateral duty but you can see me occasionaly at the checkpoint. If I don't have a smile on my face its probably because of the 50+ hrs I worked that week. Okay I am done with my rant.

[m2hbvic]

Yup, I just saw the KCAL 9 news story on the carbon AR pistol/rifle.

What a bunch of BS in their story!!!!!! Had only the typical media sensationalism BS all through their story! And, as usual, you could tell that they really had absolutely no knowledge about firearms/bullets or X-ray technology at all! Same media BS hype as when Glock pistols came out years ago and they were "discovered" in airport X-rays,............years ago. I would figure that the carbon AR has more detectable metal in the barrel/bolt/trigger parts/buffer parts than a Glock pistol has.

Get ready for a possible ban on carbon AR's now that the media/Schumer/Feinstein/Boxer/Kennedy/Brady/Diaz ***holes are getting "educated" by the TV news and newspapers on all this. Gosh, I think they tried to see if a Barrett M82A1 rifle would show up on an airport X-ray,............and this must've been the reason why they banned .50 BMG rifles her in CA. Yeah, that's it!
Vic

[MysteryCereal]

My favorite part in the news story was a clip from a press conference with a man placing the AR-pistol in a suit case and saying something along the lines of.."Look how easy it fits in a suitcase....maybe it was made that way". I was shocked at how idiotic it sounded.

[ohsmily]

Correct me if im wrong but what does it matter unless it was in a carry on bag. I have flown in the past 4 years with 2 Real FN FAL FULL AUTO machine guns in and out of LAX to Reno with no problems from what I have seen there is no law against having firearms in checked baggage.

On one occasion I came home from Los Angeles with 10 1000 round cases of .308 lake city ammo that I checked as baggage and also Had 3 full length rifles (MG) I had no problem.. also the cases of ammo had the ORM Hazardous materials placards (DOT placards) on them the clerk didn't even bother to read the bright orange label.

EDIT NOTE: "B)" below is INCORRECT. I am wrong about it. I will leave it up though, no sense in deleting or modifying it.

It was completely legal for your to check your firearms as baggage. It was ILLEGAL for you A) not to declare them and B) ILLEGAL to check ammunition as checked baggage (or carry-on for that matter). You can't even SHIP ammunition by air, it must go ground.

[ohsmily]

I am wrong about it being illegal to check ammunition. Federal law does allow it. After a cursory search, most airlines allow you to check ammunition (although many have a limit on how much ammo you can check).

However, you are required to declare that you are checking firearms and/or ammunition.

Some airlines even allow you to check baggage that contains ammunition and a gun in the same container.

[EOD Guy]

SemiAutoSam,

The maximum amount of ammunition for personal use that can be checked in baggage is limited by law and regulation to 5 Kg (11 lb) per passenger. (Individual airlines may further limit that amount.) Anything over that amount has to be shipped as cargo with the associated marking, labeling, packaging, and shipping paper requirements in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the International Civil Air Organization Technical Instructions for the Safe Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Air, and the International Air Transport Association Dangerous Good Regulations.

Small arms ammunition can be shipped by air, but it must be classed as a Division 1.4S explosive material, which makes it very expensive to ship. That's why almost all ammunition shipments within the US are by ground. Shipping an undeclared hazardous material shipment within the United States is subject to a civil penalty of $15,000 per day that the shipment is in transit.
(49CFR Appendix A to Subpart D of Part 107)

DOT is very sensitive to undeclared hazardous material shipments on passenger aircraft. That was what caused the ValueJet crash in Florida a few years ago that killed everyone on board. People responsible for that shipment went to jail.

Your 10,000 round shipment was well over the legal limit. The people handling your baggage obviously didn't know anything about the hazardous material/dangerous goods regulations.

[jester]

I'm a ramper for a major a/l at LAX, and EODguy is absolutly correct.
Firearms & ammo *must* be declared and ammo also must be in the factory packaging and in a predetermined amt.