Luggage
& Gear
Again, RNH was traveling with his military
surplus 81mm mortar case that i had recommended, with an affixed heavy hasp
secured by an Abus Diskus 20/70 padlock. RNH was traveling with his Walther
PPS & an extra eight round magazine in a padded zippered case inside,
plus one 50 round cardboard box of ammunition.
Outbound
Travel 
In
Houston, at the Terminal C ticket counter, the Continental agent was calm
and matter-of-fact during the check-in. She called the TSA to come and meet
RNH at the screening table which is within one hundred feet of the Continental
counter.
Nobody
made any criticisms of the luggage or its manner of being packed.
During
the TSA screening, RNH observed a red "C" drawn on his white baggage
tag. It was unclear, however, if this simply stood for being "checked"
by the TSA or something else.
From
previous flights, RNH had learned that when departing from IAH with firearms,
it is always best to use Terminal C, since the TSA people are based out of
that area. When using Terminal E in the past, this traveler had to wait for
ten or fifteen minutes while a pair of TSA officers walked from Terminal C
to perform a hand-scan.
At
the TSA screening area, the traditional stainless steel table is in full view
and travelers' belongings can be observed during the screening process. On
this trip, RNH had no more than a two minute wait for the officer to process
him. The TSA staffer was polite, gave no attitude, and did not ask for the
luggage key but instead asked RNH to unlock the case and subsequently re-lock
it upon completion of their inspection.
The
flight to Maine was perfectly ordinary and all luggage arrived on time in
the Pine Tree State, showing no signs of tampering or mishandling.
Homebound
Travel
RNH and his family
originally had plans to come home via the same route taken on their outbound
journey, but weather thwarted this attempt and they were reticketed and rescheduled
due to the weather.
RNH
initially attempted to fly out of Portland, ME (as originally planned). For
the first time in three trips, the ticket counter agent asked this traveler
to demonstrate that the pistol was unloaded! He was actually glad she did
(and impressed that she mentioned that she had no need or duty to handle the
firearm but but simply wanted a demonstration of its clear status). RNH pulled
the mag to show that it was empty, and locked back the slide to show her the
chamber. He told her she was the first to ask this, and she rolled her eyes
and said that everyone was *supposed* to be asking for verification.
Ultimately,
weather delays forced him to abort the check-in and re-ticket for a departure
from Boston, so RNH got two check-in experiences on this journey back home.
The
Boston hand-check screening is done at the end of the Continental ticket counter,
approximately fifty feet from my check-in station. Clear visibility of the
hand-check procedure was the norm.
The
Boston TSA did a hand-check of RNH's declared luggage. They asked him to unlock/lock,
and he was able to observe. The one thing unusual was that the (young) screener
did lay hands on the pistol, but it turns out only to look beneath it. He
didn't even remove it from the luggage. (This was good, as RNH was getting
ready to interrupt.) They took a swab from the boots that were in the luggage,
and passed the test patch to someone in a back area for processing through
the explosive residue scanning machine.
The
scan was fine, the luggage remained locked, and the flight was normal... despite
all of this taking place mere days after the Umar
Farouk Abdulmutallab incident in the skies over Detroit, MI.
Final
Details & Thoughts
RNH was already checked-in and on board his
initial flight out of Houston when the news started breaking about Flight
253 and the underwear bomber. On his return (both the attempted flight
on 12/31 out of Portland & then the successful flight out of Boston on
1/1), walking into the terminal with an army surplus steel 81mm mortar case
generated a palpable level of anxiety among the public & airline employees.
RNH took care to look relaxed & comfortable, and as soon as he engaged
the ticket agent people seemed to relax. What a magnificent story of proper
behavior and responsible actions... both in terms of not panicking the public
as well as refusing to be terrorized into not flying by air after a public
news story like the crotchbomber.
RNH,
i salute you for your fine reporting to this web site, your responsible actions
as a traveler, the example you set for the public as well as for family members,
and for being exactly the kind of American i'd want to have checking-in next
to me on any flight that i might be taking.
