I can tell you that TSA in HSV watches the crews do walk-arounds. We got a nasty gram from mgt (AWAC) a while back, telling us to make sure they were done because the TSA had obeserved a crew not opening all the access panels.

"TSA's workforce is comprised of security professionals who work to ensure the safety of air travel. To protect the safety of our officers, threats, verbal abuse, or violence of any kind are not tolerated,"

TSA aren't professionals!!! They aren't even officers and they verbally abuse people all of time. I'm guessing one got a little fresh with him in a search and he pushed him/her off. I mean have you been pat down before in front of passengers? it really is demeaning.

Ok so also, he was arrested for assault once he had cleared the security checkpoint? hahahahahaha did he beat the crap out of all of the smurfs while he was there causing them to have to regroup and capture him at the plane? That to me indicates that he never really assaulted anyone if they had to decide weather it was assault or not and arrest him later. I think if this dude really wanted to assault someone they would be in the hospital and not whining to their supervisor. I hope this case is thrown out in the courts and I hope it puts more pressure on the FAA and Alpa to speed up Crewpass...

Probably a bit more prestigious than being a Walmart Greeter .:rolleyes:

JAPW.
Ally

If you ever see a TSA agent putting cloth or anything on to your airplane call airport police and have him arrested, have them do a bomb sweep etc, and hopefully get terrorism charges against him/her. That crap will end quick.

Perhaps you're right, nothing like offering up a finely tuned set of wheels(shopping cart) to the blue hairs at my local Wally World...that said, I'm still trying to figure out what food chain airline pilots have been or should be on top of....oh well, I'll go back to greeting rednecks!

I had a TSA agent watch me do a preflight in Birmingham one morning. He came out identified himself and said he wanted to observe me doing the preflight and ask me a few questions about what I was looking for. I let him follow me around and told him what I was looking for, plenty of break wear pins, no dings on the wings, nothing blocking the packs... We get to the hydraulic system overflow drains (this is on the 145) and for some reason hydraulic fluid is just spewing out of them. I say something like wow thats not good, and this genious proceeds to stick his hand into the flowing hydrualic fluid to see what it is coming out of the plane. Ever since then I will not allow a TSA agent to go near my airplane with out supervision. Not only are they too stupid to know what can hurt them on an airplane but they have no clue what can kill others.

I would have turned it into a 30 minute long walk-around inspection.

Unless TSA is privy to your FOM, your OPS Specs, and your preflight checklists they have no idea what panels your are supposed to open or what you are looking for. I would highly advise everyone to treat them the same way I have treated any FAA ramp check. They can follow you if they like but any questions asked will not be answered because that will cause an undue delay in my flight and is not acceptable. Works every time. I am not about to let a Wackenhut flunkie tell me what to look for or ask questions during a preflight. They better serve the community by harrasing us at security checkpoints....:cool:

Some of you asked previously for elaboration on the matter. Others have already taken care of that. The walk-around/security sweep observations TSA is doing is unacceptable. This is only 1 item of a growing list of TSA's ever increasing power. In some cases the individual can be personally fined (not the company) for not complying with some of TSA's "new rules". Sucks to be us...spread the word it needs to end.

I agree we shouldn't take a delay, but disagree that keeping them ignorant is the best approach. I've always found it better to work with a properly informed person than an ignorant one.

What we need, IMHO, is for ALPA National to work with the TSA/FAA on a clearly delineated policy about what to expect during these inspections/tag-alongs so as to avoid confusion and misinformation over the authority the TSA.