Confiscated by TSA. Ever happen to you?

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BTW - TSA is a rip off operation [too many bad apples] as the other year they opened my wife's checked baggage and when she arrived home her Saints Bree NFL shirt was MIA. Was brand new and she had only worn it once :(
 
About three years ago, I was "living under a rock", and as a result, I too did not pay attention to the rules, even though the rules said it was ok. On a flight back to Miami from Havana, I had in one of my checked bags, a like new but very old status symbol of the Cuban farmer, a Collins machete which was made in Hartford, CT in 1952. The Cuban I purchased it from said his brother worked as a Customs agent at the airport and stated it simply had to be packed in checked baggage. Anyway, I get back to Miami, book a flight to Virginia, and when I got home, I find the machete is gone. I made the standard complaint of theft/loss, and after several phone calls to the folks at MIA, I finally get one rude person who said checked baggage from Cuba goes through screening, and in all likelihood the machete was confiscated as contraband/weaponery...this jerk goes on to say there is no way I can get any further info, and to consider myself lucky for not being arrested for illegal importation of products of Cuban manufacture. To make a long story short, I do believe one of their exile employees saw that it was a Collins, and just had to have it for himself, never mind this was not a "Cuban manufactured" product, but a tool simply making its way back home to the US. The moral here is that if you want to keep something you purchased overseas, just mail it home; that's how I managed to get a couple of boxes of Cohiba's...I'm surprised the brain surgeons in Customs or the USPS missed the Havana, Cuba postmark and stamps on the box.
 
Fish Boy said:
I heard rumors that they have missile defense systems on the planes.
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Some aircraft have already been fitted with the MUSIC air defense system...fully automated laser that responds in less than 10 seconds when it detects a missile launch, not when the missile is well underway.
 
Stand Straight said:
Ouch! But I thoroughly agree.
My son & daughter-in-law will be coming over shortly so I'm having him read this entire thread (lol). Education. I will also now be able to ask him those question that so many of you have brought up. Last night I heard the abridged rendition at a noisy restaurant with family.

How great is it that so many forum members can have so many different view points and opinions but still not resort to name calling and bad behavior, which we all have witnessed from time to time in the forums. It's a joy when we can communicate without low blows.
Merry Christmas!
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I appreciate your civility, in response to my rather harsh observation. Please understand, that it wasn't as much the mistake that your son made; rather, it was his actions in response to the confiscation, that warranted my strongly worded reply:
"My son very loudly wished the airport staff a Merry Christmas which nearly made them miss their flight."

^^^
THAT, is what really bothered me! He tried to take a Zero Tolerance knife, on a commercial flight, & then got loud with the agents, who like it or not, were just doing their jobs! Your sons action's, precipitated this entire situation, & if he really needed to take his frustrations out on anyone, all he had to do was to look in the mirror. :rolleyes:

Let me please reiterate: I despise, Big Government! :thumbdn:

BTW- I just flew up to Idaho a couple of months ago. Prior to my departure, I contacted my carrier (Delta) & asked what their protocol was in relation to bringing knives with me. They explained, I followed their rules to a T, & there were zero problems. It would be prudent for every person travelling to do the same...& trust me on this: not every Country in the World, is as civilized as ours, when you make this type of mistake!

Merry Christmas, & best wishes to you, & your family!
 
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Even though it has been cited several times that the TSA has missed those, its been a rule of theirs for wellover a decade. It would have been better just to snail mail that stuff (and insure it)
 
Triforge said:
If you put it in luggage it won't be confiscated.
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Not confiscated, but a high chance of being stolen as they ransack your baggage looking for contraband [see my above post about wife's NFL jersey].
 
MSgt said:
Not confiscated, but a high chance of being stolen as they ransack your baggage looking for contraband [see my above post about wife's NFL jersey].
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No offense MSgt, but how do you know that? You need more than anecdotal accounts to make such claims.
 
There have been a lot of arrests and investigations about exactly this with both TSA and baggage handlers. It is a shame, but true. A quick Google will give you a lot of news results.
 
redman2006 said:
There have been a lot of arrests and investigations about exactly this with both TSA and baggage handlers. It is a shame, but true. A quick Google will give you a lot of news results.
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Yes, and those are anecdotal accounts. No one is suggesting that it doesn't happen, but to claim that there's a high probability of having items from your checked baggage stolen from the TSA requires more than news or personal accounts. And I've never seen any statistics to suggest that air travelers in the US are at high risk of having property stolen from the TSA.
 
The testimony of those involved stating it is a culture of theft is fairly convincing as well as is sheer number of cases. Convictions are more than mere anecdotes. There are stats listed as well. Again, a quick Google will find those as well.
 
redman2006 said:
The testimony of those involved stating it is a culture of theft is fairly convincing as well as is sheer number of cases. Convictions are more than mere anecdotes. There are stats listed as well. Again, a quick Google will find those as well.
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Where are those stats?
 
Released to multiple news agencies and actually show the 20 most problematic airports in the nation. As I said, a brief Google will show it.

TSA even admits an issue as they are baiting their own officers with iPads. Again, multiple news reports and based on foi requests.

Perhaps to some it is a small percentage, but for an agency entrusted with our security on flights, it is far too many.

Do you want me to do the Google search for you and post the hits?
 
redman2006 said:
Released to multiple news agencies and actually show the 20 most problematic airports in the nation. As I said, a brief Google will show it.

TSA even admits an issue as they are baiting their own officers with iPads. Again, multiple news reports and based on foi requests.

Perhaps to some it is a small percentage, but for an agency entrusted with our security on flights, it is far too many.

Do you want me to do the Google search for you and post the hits?
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Yes, please do.

And just for a point of reference. "The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) [reports] that 815.3 million scheduled passengers traveled on U.S. airlines and on foreign airlines serving the United States in 2012" (http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/press_releases/bts016_13). That works out to around 2.23 million passengers per day.
 
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redman2006 said:
Released to multiple news agencies and actually show the 20 most problematic airports in the nation. As I said, a brief Google will show it.

TSA even admits an issue as they are baiting their own officers with iPads. Again, multiple news reports and based on foi requests.

Perhaps to some it is a small percentage, but for an agency entrusted with our security on flights, it is far too many.

Do you want me to do the Google search for you and post the hits?
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Don't bother red...there will always be those who deny or avoid the facts. If anyone is truly interested in the facts, they can do their own research. You're being troll'd.:rolleyes:
 
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https://www.yahoo.com/travel/bp/airport-luggage-thefts-reportedly-rise-tsa-012317876.html

And many travel sites have lists of tips to avoid losing a lot and what to do. As said, I know guys who travel a lot and they just don't check valuable items if they can avoid it. Many people do that.

I'm sure there are many people who have traveled and never had a problem. Still, for me to not want to check a bag of valuable items is quite understandable with the evidence out there.

*Anyone* feeling like their stuff isn't secure is too much.
 
Alnamvet68 said:
Don't bother red...there will always be those who deny or avoid the facts. If anyone is truly interested in the facts, they can do their own research. You're being troll'd.:rolleyes:
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Not quite Alnamvet68. So far NO facts have been provided for the claim that there's a high probability of having items from your checked baggage stolen from the TSA. Again, no one - certainly not me - is claiming that this isn't a problem. So here are some media reports that showcase the problem:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-tactics-in-the-fight-against-stolen-luggage-1407968449

From a May 7th, 2008 BudgetTravel article (http://www.budgettravel.com/blog/theft-from-baggage-the-tsa-reponds-to-our-readers,9834/):
Of the roughly 2 billion passengers who have traveled since TSA assumed responsibility for screening in 2003, approximately 67,000 passenger loss claims have been filed to date. That is well under one hundredth of one percent, or a claim rate of 3 per 100,000 passengers.

When an item goes missing from a checked bag, it is often impossible to determine where the loss occurred given that checked bags pass through so many hands. Remember, TSA has possession of the bag only long enough to screen it for explosives. Bags are delivered to TSA by the air carriers or their contractors and we return all bags to the airlines after screening. TSA never even touches the bag at the connecting or at the destination airport.

We estimate that for every TSA employee that touches a bag, six to ten airline or airport employees and contractors touch the same bag out of the view of passengers.
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Still waiting on the facts that show the vast majority of air travelers in the US who check their baggage are at risk of having items stolen from their luggage by the TSA, or "a high chance of being stolen" as MSgt claims.
 
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