Federal Air Marshall encounter...

[lifewithoutanet 0]

I flew out of Orange County, through Denver, to Washington Dulles yesterday and had an interesting experience when I arrived at my final destination. I brought one of my rigs with me and as usual, carried it on. I typically carry it on as is, in plain sight, not in any luggage. My argument is that it's better off out in the open, lest someone get a little overzealous and think I'm trying to sneak it onto the plane.
Security at John Wayne at first requested that I check it as luggage. I politely declined, showed them the TSA letter and after a second x-ray and a short discussion with the TSA supervisor, was allowed to proceed. Nothing strange about that.
I flew on Frontier and as luck would have it, had the same crew on both legs of the trip. The first half of the trip was uneventful. Upon boarding in Denver, I stopped to talk to one of the flight attendants, letting her know that I was travelling with my dogs and wanted to be sure that they made the connection as well. The gate agent had done this on the first leg without me asking, but I wanted to be sure for this leg of the trip. She said she'd come to my seat and let me know they were on board before we taxied from the gate. At this point, three passengers in the first few rows took notice of my rig. Too bad I wasn't flying camera at that moment. The looks they gave me were priceless. I smiled, nodded "hello" and went to my seat. I stowed the rig in the overhead, several rows ahead of my seat. The flight attendant came by to tell me that the pups were on board and then asked, "Did you...ummm...carry a parachute on board?" I told her 'yes' and 'it's up there in the overhead a few rows forward'. She joked and asked if I knew anything that she didn't and made me promise not to pull a DB Cooper on her watch. It was all pleasant conversation and she was having a good time with it. I was in that very last row where the seats don't recline, on the aisle, so between serving food/drink, she and another flight attendant asked me all the standard questions. They were very intrigued and I directed them to my old DZ in Colorado to make a tandem when they got the chance.
We landed and as I was leaving the plane, she asked me to show it to the pilot, who jokingly commented that "the tarmac really isn't that far of a drop, but be my guest". In the terminal, leaving the gate, I was approached by a large man who introduced himself using his full name, informed me he was a Federal Air Marshall and showed me his badge. He asked if I could step aside for a few moments to talk with him. We went to the other side of the terminal to an empty gate where he proceeded to tell me that this was a first (ahem..."beer") for himself and any other FAM officials he spoke with throughout the flight. As it turned out, when I boarded in Denver someone did point it out to the flight attendant and in some short order I'm unsure of, the FAM I was speaking with spoke with the pilot who radioed to Frontier headquarters while the FAM conferred with his people on the matter. In general, they'd been entirely unsure of how to deal with the situation and he wanted to discuss with me how and why I'd carried it on. I explained why and showed him the TSA letter for the 'how'. Apparently I was under watch the entire flight.
He had some other questions for me, the first of which was if the rig had any sort of CO2 or compressed-air device. I explained "no" and when he asked why one might, explained the concept behind a floatation device. I then went a little further and explained an AAD as an 'electronic' (key: not 'explosive') device that would deploy a reserve in the event that I passed an altitude at a specific fall rate. I emphasized the point that the FAA had classified AADs as 'non-dangerous goods' and they were certified as an item that could be carried on. This rig didn't have one, I explained, but as he'd told me he was looking for more information on the matter I figured a little extra info wouldn't hurt. I further elaborated on FAA regulations regarding reserve parachutes and answered a few other questions, all about our sport in general.
Another FAM joined us, introduced himself, as well, and said this should all be over soon. A FAM supervisor at Dulles wanted to talk to me and ask a few questions and was on his way from the other side of the airport. The second FAM had spent some time in the service and while in Europe went through jump-school with the Brits and Germans. He hadn't jumped since, but had a lot of questions about the change in equipment. The three of us talked for a few minutes and then the first FAM made a call to the supervisor to find out where he was so I could get on my way. He was still on his way, but they decided that they'd just fill him in themselves when he arrive. I'd spent maybe 15 minutes with them, right across from the gate where I'd de-planed and then was on my way.
I was never 'detained'. When first approached, I asked if he needed to see my ID and he declined. I left him with my business card (I volunteered that) with the USPA's website written on the back of it. All in all, it was a learning experience for the FAMS and he explained it as such from the start. It was a bit of a learning experience for me, too.
So, here's another case of one gov't agency that's not quite clued-in to the practices/procedures of another. No big surprise to anyone here (or in the Speaker's Corner, for that matter). The USPA did a great job in working with the FAA and TSA, but this might be another agency with whom they need to speak. I'm forwarding this account on to the USPA, but wanted to share it here, as well. My advice if you run into this situation is just to treat the FAM with respect and use the encounter as an opportunity to educate them.
-C.

[PhreeZone 20]

Whats funny is I know of at least FAM that carries his rig with him sometimes

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[BillyVance 35]

That is certainly an interesting encounter. I'm glad it ended well and positively. You went above and beyond what you normally would have to do to answer the FAM's concerns and that only helps the rest of us. Thanks...

By the way, I always carry my rig on in its gear bag, along with the jumpsuit, gloves, altimeter and some rubberband stows. Not much else, so it is not a bulky bag at all. It fits in both under the seat and overhead bins. It also helps that it's just a one color bag, very discreet. It attracts the least attention too. I'll carry my helmet in its own custom bag. Once in a while, TSA at the X-ray machine will ask me to open the gear bag and I'll explain what it is, and that's it, I'm on my way.

Blue Skies
Billy

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[lifewithoutanet 0]

Quote

That is certainly an interesting encounter. I'm glad it ended well and positively. You went above and beyond what you normally would have to do to answer the FAM's concerns and that only helps the rest of us. Thanks...

It was. And you're welcome. I'd prefferred it not happen at all, but when life gives you lemons...
For the 'above and beyond', it was my chance to try and control the conversation/situation. How responsive he was was my meter of what I was up against. While I wasn't being detained, there were a couple of minutes in the beginning when I wasn't sure about what was actually going on.
In truth, the guy never did anything to make me feel that I was in trouble, but when someone shows you a badge and asks to talk to you, especially in an airport...well...
-C.

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

That's smart, Billy. When I travel I usually have two rigs with me. I will only check both rigs if I don't have to skydive that or the next day, but I never carry a rig in the open. When I MUST arrive with a rig I put it in my Eagle pistol bag or the smallest carry-on-type bag I can find. That's not hard for me since my rigs are so tiny, but carrying it in my very-small pistol bag is nicest because nobody in their right mind would think it possible that there is something like a rig inside. With the rig I also keep a pair of goggles, my Neptune, and my swooping shorts.

Generally, I think it is a very bad idea to travel with your rig in the open. It draws unwarranted attention onto yourself and can absolutely lead to problems as was evidenced by the original poster. A few years ago someone posted that they had seen some moron in the terminal repacking his canopy! Unbelievable! You know what? Skydiving is a very fun sport and all of us obviously think it's cool or we wouldn't be doing it. Still, sporting your rig through a terminal and onto a plane seems like you are screaming "look how cool I am! Check me out, I'm a skydiver!" Some people will not only not be impressed; they will find someone to report you to and then you will find yourself having to talk your way out of a corner before you miss your flight. Be smart and keep your rig in a bag.

I have been jumping nearly 24 years now and have flown back and forth across the country (and around the world) with my equipment many, many times. I have only once in that entire time had to "convince" the security people that it was OK for me to have my CYPRES equipped rig with me. That was right after TSA started up and they were working out the bugs at the new security checkpoints. The post-X-Ray inspection was done very-discreetly by opening the bag it was in and letting them see my CYPRES card and the rig.

Chuck Blue
D-12501

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

Quote

Whats funny is I know of at least FAM that carries his rig with him sometimes

That is exactly what I was thinking.

I've found that "out of sight, out of mind" works well when taking my rig on a flight. If it can't been seen what it is, no one can question me. Besides, I don't like the idea that my rig could be bounced around in the overhead, snag on something, pull the reserve or worse. That extra protection as people aggressivly pull their luggage out from above is much needed - the marks on my gear bag are proof of that.

For me I've only had trouble at the screen in table about 50% of the time and the best bet was to be as prepared, polite and informed as you were. I always add some extra travel time if I bring my rig because of that.

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[BillyVance 35]

Yeah, what you said... draw the least attention to yourself in an airport by not being so obvious.

There was a time in the late 90's when I was flying back home from California, and I ran into my old skydiving friend from home at the St. Louis airport. Turns out he was on his way home from visiting family in Minn. (we live in Alabama). I had my gear with me. He didn't. Anyway, we were on the same plane, one of those little 40 seater commuter types with one flight attendant, who was cute by the way. We both sat in one of the last couple of rows in the plane, right in front of the rear emergency exits, while the attendant was in the very last seat. On the way, we encountered a storm and the pilot was having to make a wide detour around the storm. There were only 15 people on board, and none of them sitting near us, but somehow we started joking about what if the plane got in trouble and how could we save our asses when there's only one rig? I said we could exit together, you hang onto me, I deploy my main, then you grab the main risers, then I cutaway and deploy my reserve and we both land... etc... He noticed the flight attendant looking at us kind of funny, so he just said we were joshing around and we quieted down...

Now in this day of terrorism and FAMs, I'm not joking around, unless my buddy and I are joking in sign language!

Blue Skies
Billy

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[happythoughts 0]

I flew to Rantoul this year with no problems. I carry all the documentation about rigs and the screeners were aware of it. An experienced screener wanted to show it to a new screeener so that she would know what she was seeing.

The only problem that I had were weights. They were lumps of black stuff on the screen. I explained them and their purpose and it was ok.

[lifewithoutanet 0]

Quote

Generally, I think it is a very bad idea to travel with your rig in the open. It draws unwarranted attention onto yourself and can absolutely lead to problems as was evidenced by the original poster.

I generally agree with this statement, especially after yesterday. One thing I failed to mention is that I had the leg-straps stowed up and out of the way, behind my back, not dangling down my leg.
While I'll start carrying this in another container, I highly doubt I will ever check a rig as baggage, though. I've had a TSA official try and pick up a rig by silver (does look like an attractive handle) and yesterday, grab it in such a way that it could have popped the main closing pin. I prefer to keep it under my watchful eyes and the only way I can do that is to carry it on. They do inspect some bags that are checked and we're not present when that happens.
-C.

[SkymonkeyONE 4]

I hope you didn't think I meant that I would check a rig as baggage that was not packed away in a suitcase. That would be the dumbest thing I could imagine. No screener these days is going to fuck with a rig inside a suitcase. All they do lately is wipe the outside of your bags with those little pads and run them in the "sniffer."

Chuck

[lifewithoutanet 0]

Quote

I hope you didn't think I meant that I would check a rig as baggage that was not packed away in a suitcase.

Noooo. I didn't think you meant that at all. Knew you meant it was packed in another form of luggage.

Quote

All they do lately is wipe the outside of your bags with those little pads and run them in the "sniffer."

Don't be so sure of that. The reason you can no longer lock your luggage is so that they can get into it and inspect the contents. In such a case, you'll find an additional TSA tag on the bag at your destination, alerting you to the fact that your bags were opened and the contents inspected. That's what prevents me from checking a rig.
-C.

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

Quote

I've had a TSA official try and pick up a rig by silver (does look like an attractive handle) and yesterday, grab it in such a way that it could have popped the main closing pin.
-C.

I bet that would not happen to you if it was in a bag!

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[mr2mk1g 10]

Your account brings meaning to the term "ambassador for your sport". Nicely handled.

You wouldn't have had to "handle" anything though if you'd just stuck your rig in a bag.

[lifewithoutanet 0]

Quote

Your account brings meaning to the term "ambassador for your sport". Nicely handled.

Thank you.

Quote

You wouldn't have had to "handle" anything though if you'd just stuck your rig in a bag.

Agreed. Can't argue with you there. Wouldn't have had to be an ambassador if that had been the case. The only other bag I had contained my laptop and camera bags so I could count them as one carry-on and bring it all on the plane.
-C.

[lifewithoutanet 0]

Quote

I bet that would not happen to you if it was in a bag!

Reasonable comment, but in this circumstance, I was at Denver Int'l, two rigs were in a bag and they asked for them to be removed and x-ray'd separately. It was at this point that the TSA guy tried to pick one up by silver.

All in all, I think we're unanimous in that this wouldn't have happened had it been in another piece of luggage and I'll be buying another carry-on suitcase for future use. (I almost picked one up at Square1 this weekend.)
Without turning this into a Speaker's Corner post, the point is more that there's yet another agency out there to be aware of who doesn't know how to handle our sport in regards to air travel and that having the TSA documents with you and cooperating (even taking control of the situation as much as you can) will get you through it just fine.
-C.

[linny 1]

Dang, you took your dogs Collin?
Are you ever coming back?

The funny thing about your story is I could hear your voice the entire time reading it.. Very matter-of-factly. Good job dude

[freeflir29 0]

I can only educate so many of them at a time. I do try though. Sounds like the situation was handled well on both sides. They got a report of "strange" activity. They were unsure, so they followed up on it and confirmed that you were no threat what so ever. With that......they sent you on your merry way. That's what they are out there for.....to identify and deal with threats to civil aviation. Your tax dollars at work.

[Rdutch 0]

Quote

I hope you didn't think I meant that I would check a rig as baggage that was not packed away in a suitcase. That would be the dumbest thing I could imagine. No screener these days is going to fuck with a rig inside a suitcase. All they do lately is wipe the outside of your bags with those little pads and run them in the "sniffer."

Chuck

When I got to Perris my gear bag had a paper saying they had looked in my bag. On one of my rigs the main pc had been pulled out and the Reserve flap was open, my seal was broken on one side, they definitely didnt pull the reserve handle, I think with the flap open it probably got broke stuffing my rig in my gear bag, its kinda tight with two rigs a camera helmet and my jumpsuits.

Ray
Small and fast what every girl dreams of!

[lifewithoutanet 0]

Didn't feel like leaving the knuckleheads home for two weeks and I could use the company on the long, coast to coast drive back.
-C.