[strela]

It appears that he ought to have been able to carry one of his lighters onto the plane, as it was a lighter without a flammable liquid reservoir.

That wasn't made clear in the story. I found a web site that sells them, but didn't note the fuel source of the lighters in question. Do they use lighter fluid or something? - $150 for a lighter is a wee bit out of my price range.

Also, I wonder how they define "micro-torches." Do they mean torch lighters or the small micro torches used for home electrical work or cooking?

I would throw my butane-powered soldering iron into this category as well. The guy should have asked ...

[Rifleman]

But we were free once. I know we were, I can remember it.