Passenger Surprised When TSA Finds Dagger Inside Cane

Each week, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) details some of the items they uncovered during airport searches on their blog. This week the administration found not only a record 50 firearms (45 which were loaded), but also a curious cane that concealed a 2.5-inch knife (pictured).

According to the blog, even the woman carrying the cane was surprised to find the blade inside when she tried to pass through a security checkpoint at Washington Dulles International Airport.

“It’s important to examine your bags prior to traveling to ensure no prohibited items are inside,” said the TSA. “If a prohibited item is discovered in your bag, you could be cited and quite possibly arrested by local law enforcement.”

At airports this week, officials also found 10 stun guns, two inert grenades and a can of tear gas.

[via Business Insider]

Space Shuttle To Fly One Last Time

While NASA’s space shuttle program may have ended, the orbiters and other artifacts are being prepared for their new homes and the lessons learned through the program’s history are being gathered for future generations. On its way to the National Air and Space Museum, the shuttle Discovery will make one last flight later this month.

On Tuesday, April 17, NASA’s 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) with space shuttle Discovery mounted atop will fly just 1500 feet above various parts of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Expected to fly between 10 and 11 a.m. EDT near landmarks including the National Mall, Reagan National Airport, National Harbor and the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center, the SCA will land at Dulles International Airport upon completion of the flight.The exact route and timing of the flight, held in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration, will depend on weather and operational constraints. Live coverage of the event can be seen on NASA Television and the agency’s web site.

Discovery completed 39 missions, spent 365 days in space, orbited the Earth 5,830 times and traveled 148,221,675 miles from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011.

Discovery was the first of the three active space shuttles to be retired, followed by Endeavour on June 1, 2011. The final shuttle mission was completed with the landing of Atlantis on July 21, 2011, bringing about the end of the 30-year program.


[Flickr photo via NASA Goddard Photo and Video]

TSA PreCheck program to be expanded, details sketchy

The TSA PreCheck program being piloted by The Transportation Security Administration is expanding and will allow some passengers to go through pre-screening then make it through security checkpoints faster at many more airports in 2012. The exact benefits of the program, however, are difficult to define.

“We are pleased to expand this important effort, in collaboration with our airline and airport partners, as we move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more intelligence-driven, risk-based transportation security system,” TSA Administrator John S. Pistole told the Los Angeles Times saying the PreCheck program and a similar effort for international travelers, called Global Entry, will help make the TSA screening process more efficient.

Designed to help TSA focus resources on higher-risk and unknown passengers while expediting the process for lower-risk and known passengers whenever possible, more than 336,000 passengers been screened to date through TSA PreCheck lanes.

Some passengers could qualify for expedited screening through U.S. airport security checkpoints via designated screening lanes. The TSA doesn’t say exactly how the screening differs, citing security reasons but potential benefits may include keeping shoes, belts and light jackets on and keeping a 3-1-1 compliant bag in carry-on luggage. The TSA is quick to point out though that “at no point, however, is this program an entitlement. Passengers are always subject to random, unpredictable screening measures,” on their web site.

Not everyone is eligible for the PreCheck program though. It applies only to members of airline frequent-flier programs who also must first apply with the TSA. If approved, they get a boarding pass with a special barcode signaling TSA workers to let them go through the fast lane.


Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/09/2995938/airport-will-offer-tsas-precheck.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/09/2995938/airport-will-offer-tsas-precheck.html#storylink=cpy

TSA PreCheck is currently operating with American Airlines at airports in Dallas, Miami, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and Los Angeles, and with Delta Air Lines at airports in Atlanta, Detroit, Las Vegas and Minneapolis. Later this year, US Airways, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines will begin operations.

TSA PreCheck is scheduled to be implemented at the following airports this year:

  • Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
  • Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
  • Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
  • Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
  • Denver International Airport (DEN)
  • Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
  • George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
  • Honolulu International Airport (HNL)
  • Indianapolis International Airport (IND)
  • John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
  • LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
  • Lambert-St. Louis International Airport (STL)
  • Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
  • Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU)
  • Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
  • O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
  • Orlando International Airport (MCO)
  • Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
  • Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
  • Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
  • Portland International Airport (PDX)
  • Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
  • Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
  • San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
  • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
  • Tampa International Airport (TPA)
  • Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) and
  • Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).




Flickr photo by Inha Leex Hale
Graphic via TSA