Memphis pilot says he plans to sue to change air passenger screening procedures

[Celtic Raven]

Memphis pilot says he plans to sue to change air passenger screening procedures

* By Wayne Risher
* Memphis Commercial Appeal
* Posted October 22, 2010 at 12:37 p.m., updated October 22, 2010 at 10:34 p.m.


“Memphis pilot Michael Roberts and his attorney said Friday on ‘Good Morning America’ that they’re planning to sue the federal government over air passenger screening procedures.

“‘We’re moving forward with a lawsuit,’” Charlottesville, Va., lawyer John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos.

“The institute, a nonprofit, conservative civil liberties advocate, stepped in to represent Roberts, who refused to submit to a full body scan or the alternative, a manual pat-down, at a Memphis International Airport checkpoint last week. Roberts was in full uniform and trying to commute to his job in Houston flying for ExpressJet Airlines.

“‘But the thing I want to emphasize,’ Whitehead continued, ‘Michael did go through a metal detector, passed it. Scanners are strip searches, and in this country, the constitutional rule has been you don’t search anybody unless they’re suspected of criminal activity.’

More at link: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/oct/22/memphis-pilot-says-he-plans-sue-change-air-passeng/?partner=popular

We are not criminals to be strip searched and/or frisked simply because we planned a trip.

:grr:

[HopeHoops]

1. ELVIS wouldn't put up with this shit!

[Mimosa]

2. This should be interesting.

Who flies these days unless they HAVE TO? I remember when flying could be enjoyable. But that was way back.

[Travis_0004]

3. The defense they have is that you don't have to use the scanner

If you don't want to use the scanner, then don't fly. Take a train, car or boat. Nobody is forcing you to fly.

[Posteritatis]

5. Unless you're inland, carless and have crap access to passenger rail. (nt)

[pnwmom]

4. Don't want to be scanned? Drive. n/t

[Hawkowl]

7. But he is the PILOT

The pilot doesn't need a bomb, or weapon to kill everyone on board in about 5 seconds. It is absolutely LUDICROUS, to make the pilots undergo virtual strip searches.

[GoneOffShore]

10. Indeed he is.

He also has access to the fire ax in the cockpit once he's onboard the plane.

[Edweird]

13. Not to mention the nealty 10,000 pilots that are allowed to fly ARMED.

[Hawkowl]

15. The irony

The irony is if this pilot obtained the necessary permit to fly armed, he wouldn't have to undergo screening!

[pnwmom]

20. I was really responding to those who were against passenger screening.

I do agree they could make exceptions of pilots.

[Hawkowl]

24. Okay

Your post makes more sense then. I think though, that the scanners/groping is over the top. If they are truly worried about explosives, then nothing works better than a bomb sniffing dog. A dozen dogs for every airport!

[pnwmom]

30. I don't have a problem with dogs, but some people do.

People with allergies, and many Muslims. So that could be one more choice -- patdowns, scans, or dogs.

[Celtic Raven]

16. Can't afford to drive

My G'Mother died last Tuesday. Couldn't afford the time/money to drive 5600 miles roundtrip, and wouldn't subject myself and daughter to Chertoff's Rape-i-scan - or molestation by gov't agent - to go to her funeral.

We would have loved to have been there, but G'Ma was a diehard Liberal til her last day & would have backed my decision.

[Dappleganger]

33. I'm sorry to hear that.

:hug:

[Celtic Raven]

37. Thanks Dappleganger

:hug:

[Sanity Claws]

17. Wow. We can drive to Europe now?

I stopped watching the MSM news sometime ago. I really didn't know that.

[pnwmom]

21. Take a boat. n/t

[Sanity Claws]

25. Boats? Or did you mean a ship?

I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to row that far.

[HelenWheels]

19. Stupid post

There are times when the only way to get there or to get there in time is to fly.

[pnwmom]

22. Then get scanned or accept a pat-down. Your choice. n/t

[bobbolink]

26. Sadly, the teapartier answer is it is all up to *you*.

No right to even complain, let alone protest, according to some.

Really, really sad.

[Dappleganger]

32. It's his fucking JOB.

[GoneOffShore]

6. Finally the Kettles and Gomers are waking up.

The Nude-O-Scope or the Grope - if you want to fly, take your pick.

And neither keeps the skies safe. Reinforced cockpit doors and pax awareness keep planes safe. Scanning luggage and cargo keeps plane safe. Passengers, not so much.

The head of Israeli security has said that the Nude-O-Scope technology is useless for security.

Do we really want to condition people to accept this sort of intrusion from government agents?

And to have pilots go through these devices which have not been thoroughly tested and are controlled by people who can't hold a job flipping burgers? That's a tragic joke.

"I'm an American citizen traveling in my own country, not a zek being transported to the gulag."

[tblue37]

8. They are going to completely destroy the airline industry.

Already most of us avoid flying unless it is absolutely neencessary because it is such a hassle and so uncomfortable. But being strip searched or aggressively groped is way worse than just being hassled. Now a lot of people will avoid flying no matter what. I have already decided not to fly East to visit my kids again this year.

Maybe we will end up with decent passenger rail service eventually because of this, but I can bet right now that the very thin airline profit margin is going to get thinner and thinner as people decide not to travel for visits, vacations, etc. The only travelers will be those who have to for their jobs, and even they are going to be searching desperately for alternatives.

[GoneOffShore]

9. People already are searching for the alternatives

And airlines are feeling the pinch.

They will start making noise and putting pressure to stop the Security Theatre.

[tblue37]

11. I am amazed the airlines haven't already made enough noise and

applied enough pressure to prevent this nonsense from even starting up. Now someone withpolitical conenctions is making money with contracts for those back-scatter scanners, so someone with powerful political connections has a reason to apply counter pressure to keep them in operation. Once something like this gets started, it is much harder to make it stop because of turf or contract protection.

[GoneOffShore]

12. Not "someone" - Michael Chertoff former Bush admin

Homeland Security guy Is making money off of the Nude-O-Scopes.

[walldude]

14. I'm flying today...

We'll see how it goes.

Airline security is pointless. The are defensive not proactive. A guy tries to light his shoe on fire , they ban lighters. There is some scare with liquid, you can't bring water through security. Someone tries to put a bomb in a printer cartridge, they ban shipping printer cartridges. Every stupid thing they have done is after the fact. Yet you can drop a package off at air freight, pay your hundred bucks and it goes right in the belly of the plane no questions asked.
Someone is getting rich off of TSA. That's what this is all about. Money. If they really gave a shit about safety they'd be checking cargo.

[Celtic Raven]

18. Exactly

Yet you can drop a package off at air freight, pay your hundred bucks and it goes right in the belly of the plane no questions asked.

It's been this way since 9-11; more and more intrusive measures against passengers while cargo has been given a pass.

[pnwmom]

23. Freight is being x-rayed. n/t

[arikara]

27. I detest flying now

The slow progression from taking away nail clippers, making 80 yr old women remove shoes, no water onboard to the naked body scanning and molestation/groping has been insidious.

I refuse to go through those idiotic scanners.

[pnwmom]

31. I can't stand being packed like sardines into tiny seats for hours.

And being forced to stay in these seats on the ground, or circling overhead, if there is any delay.

The security measures are a small annoyance compared to the hours of in-flight torture.

[malaise]

28. His constitutional rights are important

but think about the amount of exposure pilots and flight attendants face with those scanners. They should sue for medical reasons as well.

[Posteritatis]

29. Interesting watching even DUers quietly becoming fans of these procedures... (nt)

[pnwmom]

34. Yeah, and I'm a fan of locking my house doors, too.

The locks don't keep the most determined burglars out, but they keep out the rest. Same with security measures on a plane. It doesn't eliminate risk, but it makes it harder for potential terrorists to succeed.

[Posteritatis]

35. If El Al doesn't need to worry about stripsearching passengers the US certainly doesn't.

Sedating passengers and shackling them to their seats would make it harder for potential terrorists to succeed, too. Let's do that!

[pnwmom]

36. So you think we should do profiling, like the Israelis do?

We don't do routine strip searching, but if they do, does that make it okay?

And should we require all passengers to arrive at the airport three hours early so there's plenty of time for the preflight interviews? Just like on El Al?