Posted by: kjack
Denied Shotguns on Flight - 02/23/22 10:43 PM
On Wednesday, Feb 16 2022, at approximately 6 am, I arrived at Richmond Airport RIC for flights to Kansas City MCI AA3870 and 3856 enroute to a hunting trip in South Dakota. I had 2 shotguns, assembled, in a Gun Guard plastic travel case with three locks.
I was told by the American Airlines agent that because the 4 snap closures could be opened and the guns could be “touched” from the outside of the case, the case was disallowed. The agent said that this was a TSA directive. At no time was the case opened to see that the guns had “gun sock” (silicone impregnated cloth) and the touching wouldn’t be the gun, but the outer covering. There was no ammunition in the case.
After “touching”, no attempt was made to remove the gun from the case with the locks in place. The geometry of the long guns and location of the locks would have made removal from the case problematic, at best. Granted, a hammer and chisel could be used to break the locks but because the special handling formerly afforded my guns over the past 8 years of traveling out of RIC, such an occurrence is less likely. The somewhat specialized calibers (16 and 28 gauge) also mitigated against use of the guns in an immediate illegal manner but that was never part of the conversation.
If you are familiar with the reference, it was like being on double secret probation.
Two Richmond police officers were called over (with body cams) to politely hear my rant. I picked up my REAL ID, retired military ID card, and concealed handgun permit and walked away.
I was so angry that I did not take the names of any of the individuals involved. At no time did I deal with a TSA REPRESENTATIVE.
I returned the guns to my car and boarded my flight. The guns were returned to my home by my son who picked up my car after an inbound flight later that day. Facing significant financial loss in case of lodge reservation cancellation, I used one of the loaner guns offered by my friend in Kansas.
WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ISTHE SOURCE AND CITATION FOR THE-RULING, who made the interpretation, and when was it implemented and where/how was it disseminated. Current TSA web site does not cite this guidance. How many “touches” resulted in danger to the public or thefts of long guns?
I also think that the Plano, Doskocil and GunGuard companies, with probably millions of similar items sold, would like to know that they are selling unsatisfactory products. I will pursue that separately.
I forwarded this write up to both my Congressional representative (Ms Spanberger) and American Airlines. Ms Spanberger’s office could do nothing and I have not received a response from American. For whatever reason, the complaint function at TSA web site would not accept the text(maybe due to length).
I’m still perplexed and angry.
John
I was told by the American Airlines agent that because the 4 snap closures could be opened and the guns could be “touched” from the outside of the case, the case was disallowed. The agent said that this was a TSA directive. At no time was the case opened to see that the guns had “gun sock” (silicone impregnated cloth) and the touching wouldn’t be the gun, but the outer covering. There was no ammunition in the case.
After “touching”, no attempt was made to remove the gun from the case with the locks in place. The geometry of the long guns and location of the locks would have made removal from the case problematic, at best. Granted, a hammer and chisel could be used to break the locks but because the special handling formerly afforded my guns over the past 8 years of traveling out of RIC, such an occurrence is less likely. The somewhat specialized calibers (16 and 28 gauge) also mitigated against use of the guns in an immediate illegal manner but that was never part of the conversation.
If you are familiar with the reference, it was like being on double secret probation.
Two Richmond police officers were called over (with body cams) to politely hear my rant. I picked up my REAL ID, retired military ID card, and concealed handgun permit and walked away.
I was so angry that I did not take the names of any of the individuals involved. At no time did I deal with a TSA REPRESENTATIVE.
I returned the guns to my car and boarded my flight. The guns were returned to my home by my son who picked up my car after an inbound flight later that day. Facing significant financial loss in case of lodge reservation cancellation, I used one of the loaner guns offered by my friend in Kansas.
WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ISTHE SOURCE AND CITATION FOR THE-RULING, who made the interpretation, and when was it implemented and where/how was it disseminated. Current TSA web site does not cite this guidance. How many “touches” resulted in danger to the public or thefts of long guns?
I also think that the Plano, Doskocil and GunGuard companies, with probably millions of similar items sold, would like to know that they are selling unsatisfactory products. I will pursue that separately.
I forwarded this write up to both my Congressional representative (Ms Spanberger) and American Airlines. Ms Spanberger’s office could do nothing and I have not received a response from American. For whatever reason, the complaint function at TSA web site would not accept the text(maybe due to length).
I’m still perplexed and angry.
John