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Step Right Up, Folks!

Old 10-12-2008, 09:25 AM
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I hate taking my shoes off at the airport. Worse, however, is seeing other passengers' deformed and smelly feet. Gross. Absolutely hideous. Do flight crews have to undergo the same indignities?

From Reuters:
LOD, Israel - Israel has introduced a step-on scanner that spares airline travelers the nuisance of having to remove their shoes so they can be X-rayed for hidden weapons, though the new device cannot yet sniff out explosives.

Only the shoes of passengers deemed suspicious by Ben-Gurion Airport staff are removed, X-rayed and swabbed for bomb residues. Most people can now keep their shoes on.

Installed next to the walk-through scanners at Ben-Gurion, "MagShoe" announces within two seconds whether the footwear of the passenger standing on it contains unusual metal that might be a knife for a hijacking or a bomb detonator part.

"This innovation brings enormous logistical value as it significantly cuts down the discomfort and delays associated with standard shoe searches," said Nissim Ben-Ezra, security technologies manager for Israel's Airports Authority.

But he said MagShoe must be used in conjunction with other precautions, especially as it would not spot hidden explosives -- a major concern after the botched 2001 "shoe bombing" by al Qaeda sympathizer Richard Reid aboard a Paris-Miami flight.

A bomb-sniffing version of the suitcase-sized MagShoe is in the works, an Israeli security source said. The current version, produced by Israeli firm Ido Security Ltd., costs about $5,000.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is assessing MagShoe's feasibility for American airports and several other countries have expressed an interest, the Israeli source said.
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Old 10-12-2008, 09:34 AM
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Not if we are in uniform.
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Old 10-12-2008, 10:26 AM
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Just think of the traumatic images we would have to endure if Richard Reid was wearing explosive underwear.


And YES, I KNOW, it's my joke. But it's still funny.
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Old 10-12-2008, 11:12 AM
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How do you know he wasn't? I'm sure there was a lot of curry in his diet.



Originally Posted by dojetdriver View Post
Just think of the traumatic images we would have to endure if Richard Reid was wearing explosive underwear.


And YES, I KNOW, it's my joke. But it's still funny.
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Old 10-12-2008, 02:16 PM
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Originally Posted by vagabond View Post
I hate taking my shoes off at the airport. Worse, however, is seeing other passengers' deformed and smelly feet. Gross. Absolutely hideous. Do flight crews have to undergo the same indignities?
Not normally, but every airport is different. I've taken my shoes off for no reason as a pilot. It does happen. I know what the TSA rules say, but I'm not sure the TSA does.
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Old 10-12-2008, 04:39 PM
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Originally Posted by newKnow View Post
Not if we are in uniform.
That must be some amazing uniform that changes the contents of one's shoes! Same with the liquids/uniform requirement. When will the TSA use some common sense!?!
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Old 10-12-2008, 04:41 PM
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Originally Posted by newKnow View Post
Not if we are in uniform.
Originally Posted by Ottopilot View Post
Not normally, but every airport is different. I've taken my shoes off for no reason as a pilot. It does happen. I know what the TSA rules say, but I'm not sure the TSA does.
Gotta agree with Otto. I've had to take my shoes off while on a rotation before. You can argue that you don't have to, but remember, each airport is allowed to go "above and beyond" what the TSA minimum requirement is. Arguing with neanderthals is less satisfying than arguing with walls.
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Old 10-12-2008, 06:11 PM
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Originally Posted by f10a View Post
That must be some amazing uniform that changes the contents of one's shoes! Same with the liquids/uniform requirement. When will the TSA use some common sense!?!

Never

At my former airline Richard Reid was refered to as the Shoeicide Bomber.
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Old 10-12-2008, 09:01 PM
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Dojetdriver and newKnow are in competition for the coolest avtars. Is it true Bruce Dickinson is a pilot for Net Jets?
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Old 10-12-2008, 09:09 PM
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Originally Posted by Sr. Barco View Post
Dojetdriver and newKnow are in competition for the coolest avtars. Is it true Bruce Dickinson is a pilot for Net Jets?
Unless something has changed recently, he is a 757 CA for a British Charter company called Austreus Airlines.

He even flew the plane on certain legs of their recent "Somewhere Back in Time" tour.

Aviation Photos: Iron Maiden.

It's also known as Ed Force One.
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