Airports to ban cigarette lighters beyond checkpoints

Duluth News Tribune ^ | 12/31/04 | BRYON OKADA/Knight Ridder

[TYVets]

"I guess they haven't thought about someone running amok with fingernail clippers yet! "

Within the last 10 days a posting here on FR did report that a government "agent" was allowed to carry loaded hand gun aboard a commercial fight, but his fingernail clippers were confiscated.

Sorry, I do not have the link.

[TYVets]

"Shhh, the TSA might be reading this thread and might get some ideas."

The age old question, does one have to have the ability to think to have an idea?

[Smartaleck]

"After all, two U.S. senators argued last year, would-be terrorist Richard Reid was one match strike away from igniting explosives in the heel of his shoe aboard a Paris-to-Miami flight."

Well, at least they didn't try to ban shoes. Ooops, don't give them any ideas!

[anonymoussierra]

"I think I'll go into the airline business. I'll name my company Nudist Airlines. Passengers will be subject to full body x-rays prior to boarding. No carry on luggage, matter of fact, no luggage at all

That should take care of everything."Hehehehe :}}}}} Thank you

[hosepipe]

[ Airports to ban cigarette lighters beyond checkpoints ]

What you get when a liberal considers national security..
This makes as much sense as running John Kerry for President..

This makes as much sense as being horrified by the Tsunami death but NOT by abortion death..

This makes as much sense as Not closing the southern american border.. and allowing dual Canadian/American citizenship..

[packrat35]

Well I quit flying 2 years ago, so I am not up on the newest rules. This doesn't make me want to fly still. Thanks for the update.

[stopem]

Cause they dont smoke?

Sorry couldn't resist. But I agree, take away lighters from legal citizens but leave illegals in this country who bring illegal drugs with them. Hey who left the back door open?

Gee now I feel much more secure.

[dickmc]

Butane lighters tend to flare at altitude, if turned up to high, they can throw a 1 foot long flame jet at altitude.

What a remarkable observation. Funny I don't remember any foot long lighter flames in Denver at 5,200 feet elevation.

[konaice]

Set one at sea level.
Drive to Denver.
Hold it well away from your face.

[gidget7]

I haven't flown since 9/11 and won't

Easier and a whole lot less complicated to drive. If I don'
t have time to drive, I don't go.

[gidget7]

true but as long as the ACLU is around, we can't conduct what they deem racial profiling. So we can't keep the borders safe. They and their flunkies are what's standing in the way of that.

[dickmc]

Set one at sea level. Drive to Denver. Hold it well away from your face.

A great many of the throwaway plastic butane lighters do not even have a flame adjustment lever. Are they making special lighters for the rocky mountain region? :-)

[Still Thinking]

"We are reviewing the necessary changes that the Transportation Security Administration will need to make based on the new intelligence legislation," TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said.

Well, I'm not sure I'd call it that.

[Still Thinking]

If I fart on a plane, is that considered use of chemical warfare?

[Still Thinking]

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! The accident was due to members of the flight crew playing around with controls whose function they were unsure of????? I don't know what is most scary, that the crew members don't know what each and every item is and what it does, that they play with stuff that falls into that category on an aircraft in flight, or that there were two such morons on the same flight!

[Still Thinking]

Set one at sea level.
Drive to Denver.
Hold it well away from your face.

You told him to do everything EXCEPT flick the lighter! ;-)

[JoeBob]

The thing to do is stay home unless you absolutely have to travel. Spend your vacation dollars locally and help improve your local economy. Use your auto, train, bus,
skateboard or whatever. Screw the airlines and the idiots that decree such BS.

[jwpjr]

I looked up the accident on the NTSB web site and they reported the cause for the overspeeding of the engine was uncertain. I think the report I was looking at might have been an early report, not the final report. I'll look around for more info.

Did you see the program on National Geographic today about the British Airways flight that left England for Spain and less than 20 minutes into the flight the windshield on the captain's side was lost? Unbelievable program. The captain was sucked right out through the hole left by the missing windshield! Apparently he got stuck by his knees and two members of the cabin crew were able to keep him from being pulled out of the cockpit completely. They were at 17,000 feet when the windshield went. They had some pretty scary news footage, some of it showed the aircraft from above with the captain's body hanging out the window! It was 1 degree above zero at that altitude. It was an older model aircraft and it did not have enough O2 on board for all of the crew and passengers, so the second officer put the plane into a steep dive to get down to 7,000 feet as quickly as possible. The noise and wind in the cockpit made it all but impossible to communicate at first, but he was eventually able to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport. He had no charts for the airport and no one to help him fly the plane. They had to land with a full load of fuel on a runway that was about 2,600 feet shorter than what they would have needed. It was an amazing story. They were afraid to let loose of the captain's body for fear it would damage a wing or get sucked into the #1 engine. Part of the time his bloody face was pressed up against the side window on the right side. Pretty gruesome. The co-pilot did a marvelous job of getting the aircraft on the ground safely. The removed the captain's and put it in an ambulance BUT ON THE WAY TO THE MORGUE HE CAME TO! He had a broken arm and hand and frostbite, but fully recovered and was back in command of an airliner in five months! What a story! The window came out because they had changed it the night before and used screws that were just a tiny bit too small for the job. On this particular model of the aircraft the window is on the OUTSIDE of the fuselage and without the screws it just blew right out. Newer models have the window's edges inside a lip on the fuselage so that the pressure of the cabin makes it tighter, not able to fall out. Whew! Sorry to be so long winded, but it was one of the best such programs I have ever seen. It's part of a National Geographic series on airline disasters.

[Still Thinking]

Wow. Amazing story. I'd love to see it if it's ever on the schedule here or if I can rent it. I'll bet they were glad they hung on to the captain when they found out he was alive!

[jwpjr]

re: glad they hung on to the captain

Tbey spent a good deal of time talking about how they considered letting go of the 'body'. They were sure he was already dead, especially after 20 plus minutes at 1 below 0. They could not talk about it amongst themselves, there was so much notice in the cockpit that communication was impossible. In the final analysis it was concern for damage that might be done by having the body crash into a wing, the tail section or being ingested into the engine on that side, not that he might still be alive. They were also concerned about the amount of wind that would enter the cockpit once the opening was no longer being partially blocked by the body. The captain was aware of what was going on for several minutes after the decompression. Probably the best single aviation accident related program that I have ever seen. I plan to try to buy the tape. Brings to mind my Mom's old saying "believe in miracles, but don't depend on them."