March 18, 2013
Knives on Planes
flickr/ Madison Guy
I still clearly remember when the jig was up with my fingernail clippers.
I had been flying with the clippers in my shaving kit for several weeks after 9/11, but I couldn’t slip them by one very alert security screener in Jackson, Mississippi. At first I thought he was kidding me, but he was in deadly earnest. He explained that the small pointed file would have to be broken off the clippers before they would be allowed to pass through. I resisted the urge to point out that — as the pilot of the airplane — I already have a very sharp crash axe within easy reach when I sit in the cockpit (I had already heard of some pilots getting in hot water for making such observations).
The screener held out the clippers as if to hand them to me, and I asked what he was doing. He said, “You need to break off the file.” My response: “I’m not touching that thing. You’ve just identified it as a serious potential weapon and I don’t want to risk an injury.” This was my subtle way of highlighting the absurdity of the situation (best I could do on short notice). The screener broke off the file and I continued my day.
Over the past decade, I’ve become inured to the theater-of-the-absurd that is our screening process, and I’ve come to accept the dangers inherent in shoes and liquids (but only for amounts over 3.5 fluid ounces). But now, apparently, knives of a certain size are safe for flight. This strikes me as odd. Couldn’t any small knife be wielded with just as much menace as the box cutters from the hijackings of 9/11?
It seems like an odd place to ease up the scrutiny, and it appears to me that the TSA is focusing on those things which could potentially bring down the plane, i.e. explosives. Pilots are trained to never open the cockpit door in a threat situation, so small knives don’t pose a threat to the plane, just to the flight attendants and passengers.
But pilots and flight attendants are concerned with this new rule. The safety of the people on our flight is our main concern, and the new policy does not enhance that safety. The stated reason for the change is to speed up the screening process, but I can’t imagine the small time savings is worth the added risk.
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Concern over small knives is ridiculous, as Richard Reid and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab have amply demonstrated. (Not to mention Clayton Osbon.)
No longer do passengers sit quietly in their seats, waiting for the terrorists to grow reasonable. Instead, we fight back and make certain that the threat ends. So no idiot with a knife will ever take over a plane again.
The TSA made the right choice for once.
Comment by JohnD — March 18, 2013 @ 9:31 pm
While I would find it more convenient to keep my Victorinox knife on my keychain rather than stowing it in my checked in bag, I believe that the proposed TSA rules are absurd. My pocket knife can do more bodily harm than a box cutter. Add to that, the increased workload on TSA inspection officers. It used to be “ah, knife, not allowed”. Now they have to see what kind of knife it is, measure the blade, see if the handle has finger grips, etc. All in the name of making the workflow easier, to allow the inspectors to find a small bomb. If the director of the TSA thinks this is easy, he should take the front line and try it for a week.
Comment by Michael Tober — March 19, 2013 @ 12:37 am
Allowing small knives does not change the threat matrix at all.
There many items on the currently allowed list that could be used as improvised knives. Allowing actual knives is no more risk than allowing tools such as screwdrivers, pliers and wire cutters on board (all are allowed if under 7 inches).
Comment by John — March 19, 2013 @ 12:51 am
Back in the eighties an old karate master, Sensei Kubota, created a new attack method called “Pen Fighting” in which a writng instrument such as a ball point pen or pencil could become lethal weapons. He also created the Kubotan whis is strictly a non lethal defensive instrument not allowed in planes as I once found out. A little pen knife is no more a weapon than a pen or pencil. The security of a plane is not imperiled by some one carrying one of those things but rather by trained terrorists with a carefully laid out plan to do so.
Comment by Al Estaba — March 22, 2013 @ 6:53 pm
Before 9/11, I carried a pocketknife, pocketknife…not K-Bar or hunting knife, a pocketknife with me everywhere. Next to the handkerchief, its was considered good manners to have one to open mail, remove splinters, cut cigars and cut bows for cute young ladies. I carried one in SCHOOL from the 5th grade to college.
Carrying a pocket knife was normal until 9/11. This is not “reckless” thinking. Just because you carry a pocketknife, does not mean you are a grave threat and anarchist. This is trying to return to a normal. So please, everyone, easy with the panic.
Comment by Harry Walker — March 22, 2013 @ 6:58 pm
the term small knife is too vague, people who want to create problem can get small knife will do just as much harm as large knife. they will look for new development in knife to harm passengers & air line staff
Comment by Indra Baxi — March 22, 2013 @ 7:20 pm
I am a retired Dentist. I am also an avid gardener. I have had two small Swiss army knifes confiscated at the gate because I forgot to put them in luggage. It will be difficult for me to start carrying them again. No one knows when the law will change again.
Comment by Ron — March 22, 2013 @ 7:20 pm
The bigger question is why TSA is wasting so much time and effort on such a minor issue. Some people just don’t know what battles to fight.
Comment by Russ Drummond — March 22, 2013 @ 7:27 pm
A 2″ knife can KILL! Go to the front of the plane, grab a stewardess or child, hold the knife to their carotid artery and demand the pilot do something. Pilot refuses. Hostage dies. Try to rush the culprit. Hostage dies. A 2″ knife can kill.
Comment by Charles R. McGuire — March 22, 2013 @ 7:43 pm
I am much more concerned about a terrorist with a Stinger than anyone with a Swiss army knife.
Comment by Ron Regehr — March 22, 2013 @ 7:49 pm
A very small sharp blade can cut the neck, severing a carotid artery. Having said that, I carried a nail kit, including a file and a small scissors in a leather case (from Harrod’s in London) for over 20 years when the TSA folks told me I had to give it up or mail it home to myself. I mailed it home, but was not happy about it. Are we serious about this safety stuff or not? We can learn to live with consistent rules, but not irregular changes.
Comment by euonymous — March 22, 2013 @ 7:49 pm
Anything a pocketknife can do, can be done with other devices that already pass through security unchecked (eg. the hinge and frame of a briefcase can be prepared to be assembled into a much larger and sharper weapon.)
The best thing to do is shut down the TSA immediately. It’s useless and utterly ineffective.
The other thing is to make air marshals a public service, in uniform, with a badge, or plain clothes, but with a way of proving their identity. Otherwise anyone can jump up and say “I’m the air marshall” and add to the confusion in a crisis.
Does anyone here know how to reliably identify an air marshall if they were to be needed? It seems like a simple ploy for a high-jacker to have an accomplice who would divert attention and create confusion and delay by pretending to be an air marshall during the attack.
Comment by Adam Green — March 22, 2013 @ 7:56 pm
I have an antique pocket watch and chain that I would like to travel with, but there is a small pocket knife attached to the end of the chain. I have always proposed that instead of confiscating items, TSA should tag them and have them fly in a lock box on the plane to be returned to travelers upon landing. Everybody’s happy.
Comment by William Gordon — March 22, 2013 @ 8:02 pm
The TSA should be done away with. They appear to be a bunch of minimum wage people who cannot make a reasonable decision about anything but what time to have a coffee break. After a wonderful job making air travel safe? they are moving on to our highways!
Comment by Garnett Stancil — March 22, 2013 @ 8:35 pm
As an airline pilot of more than 34 years I consider the TSA to be inconsistent, on a power trip and totally unprofessional.
Comment by John knob — March 22, 2013 @ 9:17 pm
I have traveled all around the world and gone to many places. I also have had 2 of the Swiis knives, such as the one pictured, taken away. And before 9/11 they had each been around the world with me. As yet I haven’t killed anyone nor do I plan to. That being said, you can kill with almost anything, even with a bottle of water. As I get older, I have to take more medicine. Some of the medicine I take makes me thirsty, so I usually take 2 or 3 bottles of water as I am going through the Security check point. TSA usually confiscates them, but once I got them through. They will let me take an empty bottle past the check point, whereby I either have to find a water fountain to refill them or buy a couple of them out on the concourse for 3 times the amount. All of this does not make too much sense.
Comment by archie hyde — March 22, 2013 @ 9:32 pm
Before 9/11 you could even buy a “Swiss Army Knife” on board Swissair flights!
Comment by Hans J. Wiegert — March 22, 2013 @ 9:52 pm
The “knife” pictured is exactly what my wife used to carry. Yes, we’d like to be able to carry t with us again. Most comments are valid!!!! We certainly were able to fly without the TSA prior to 9/11. They are yet another waste of taxpayers money.
Comment by Don Pierce — March 22, 2013 @ 11:39 pm
The restrictions on knives and even water are totally idiotic. One can do as much damage with a pencil, knitting needle or ball point pen. I am a former govenment employee and I have to say, I do question the reactionary attitude of some government types. They don’t think. Yes box cutters were used on the 911 planes, but if the passengers were as militant as they are now, the terroists would have had their necks broken. Threat is defined as capability plus intent. Restricting knives only restricts one capability. If the intent exists, then anything can be used as a weapon to include breaking ones neck with the simple trist of the hands, or strangling someone with shoe laces. Taking down the plane is dramatic and reflects what terrorists want. That must be the focus not the knife and water nonsense.
Comment by Thomas Kesolits — March 22, 2013 @ 11:54 pm
I have carried a small knife in my pocket since I was in first grade. (Yes, it was a one room rural school.) I could never understand the banning of them on airplanes. Now that cockpit doors are reinforced small knives really aren’t much of a threat. In my opinion the TSA did make the correct choice.
Comment by Frank Rowley — March 23, 2013 @ 2:10 am
It’s still kabuki theater. As has been pointed out above, there is a plethora of items allowed on aircraft that can be used as weapons, starting with ballpoint pens. I won’t even discuss the number of things I carry routinely the edges of which can be sharpened. I have serious doubts if those GS-5 dolts at the checkpoints could find a belt with a push-dagger buckle. Bottom line, no one cares if a terrorist is holding a hostage. The passengers won’t sit still for an incident again.
Comment by AltheDago — March 23, 2013 @ 5:24 am
I flew all over Africa on various national white knuckles carriers and as a member of the frequent survivor’s club, felt very much at ease in Ethiopian carriers. They had armed air marshals, but you never knew which of the people on board that was.
Comment by Edo — March 23, 2013 @ 6:10 am
Michigan plans to continue to enforce the no-small-penknife policy. It seems that some TSA agents still have not received their “bonus” Swiss Army Knives.
Comment by Bill Mills — March 23, 2013 @ 10:52 am
Really! Just let the knife-carriers stash their knives in their luggage. Do they really need it on their person? Mountains out of mole hills
Comment by Bev Irish — March 23, 2013 @ 1:12 pm
I am 70 years old and have carried a pocket knife since I was 10 years old (except when flying since the “excluding any sharp object rules” went into effect). I might point out that a ballpoint pen is just as dangerous.
Comment by Steve Drake — March 23, 2013 @ 1:38 pm
The exact same small Swiss Knife has been taken from me two times. It is not a weapon which will cause the pilot to lose control of the airplance. Can it cause cuts? Yes. However it is a minimal threat. Get real and go after the real threats as the TSA Director is doing by removing the knife as a threat.
Comment by Charles Harrison — March 23, 2013 @ 2:01 pm
One can do as much injury to another with a pen or pencil as one can do with a small blade. I have had a small manicure blade confiscated and almost had my now-antique silver baby fork confiscated en route to my first visit to my granddaughter (I was able to intercept my luggage and pack it). Also, I once saw a passenger pitch a fit, for which he was hauled off by a swarm of TSA officers, after having a nice manicure kit that he bought in an airport gift shop confiscated. There is no sense to a prohibition on small blades now that pilots’ cabins are secure. It is high time for a restoration of reason.
Comment by Scott — March 23, 2013 @ 4:14 pm
Why throw precaution back into the potential concern category. Any tool is a weapon for the trained and determined person wishing to do harm to others. Is it worth the chance? Callous judgment from politicians for popularity votes to compromise safety is a fault trend in our society.
Comment by Ben — March 23, 2013 @ 4:18 pm
I think, just like not allowing people to use observation levels in skyscapers, that this stuff has gone on long enough. Someone, if they try hard enough, will circumvent any security measures. Short of strip searching every passenger there is no such thing as complete safety. Strip searching and the powers now vested in TSA workers who think they’re good, though somewhat effective, has made delays unacceptable. My vote is YES, allow small knives.
Comment by Andy Hayes — March 23, 2013 @ 7:20 pm
The new rules are the result of the decisions of a braindead bureaucrat. Hockey sticks and golf clubs can be far more lethal than a box cutter. Flight crews, air marshalls and me all feel better about the lack of these things in the cabin. Now, how do I get my swiss army knife back?
Comment by Tom Lisec — March 23, 2013 @ 7:27 pm
I am an Alaskan. I remember when passengers threw their guns in the overhead bin. The announcer just ask that they not be loaded, the same way we are asked to turn our cell phones now. The difference is today’s society’s lack of individual responsibility to step up and be willing to get involved to prevent a crisis if necessary and our toleration of violence in general. We have over-safety attuned our citizens to wait for someone in authority to handle any perceived threat. I have missed having a pocket knife in my purse to cut an apple or have a mini leatherman tool to fix things when I travel!
Comment by Mio Johnson — March 23, 2013 @ 8:38 pm
Just do as Israel does and there will be NO problems. I own a composite knife which has a very sharp edge and is almost undetectable. Anyone can get one of these things and bring a most deadly device on the plane without fear of detection. Bottom line is just make sure potential terrorists can’t get through to the pilot, and there will be no reason to try to hijack the plane, because it won’t be possible.
Comment by dave wagner — March 23, 2013 @ 9:45 pm
And Hayes, they already strip search every passenger; that is what those new booths do. And, as expected by everyone except TSA, the new “porno booths” have done nothing to improve security. (And that is why I refuse to use them; it is a violation of my civil rights that has done nothing ot make me more secure.)
Comment by JohnD — March 25, 2013 @ 1:08 pm
At the time 9/11 happened, passengers and crew were typically advised not to resist hijackers, as crashing planes was not generally their intention and cooperation was the best strategy to get the plane on the ground and the passengers and crew ultimately home safely. That paradigm has changed, and any hijacker with a knife would be resisted immediately and forcefully. The ban on small knives is irrelevant and should be removed.
Comment by Chris B — March 25, 2013 @ 3:53 pm
How far do we go? I feel we have backed up too far! I am a 74 year old child of depression era farming folk. I have seen a lot of changes, some positive and some negative. Reacting to the 9/11 events with both a military attack and a socio/political retreat makes no sense to me. The message of our government punishing with armed superiority while forcing its citizens to hide behind restricted freedoms does not speak to the enemy of a brave country. My generation was not taught to deal with bullies by running to hide behind their parents. We have not discouraged the terrorists, we have sent them a message that they are successful in damaging our way of life.
Comment by Dick Smith — March 27, 2013 @ 10:33 pm
I’m a contractor. I wear a knife on my belt all of the time. It is not a weapon. It is a tool. I’ve had to ditch them quickly on more than one flight. My current Buck has a 3″ blade when open. If it were only a matter of checking a bag to have my tool with me at my destination, it would be bad enough. Having to pay an extra fee each way to check luggage now makes this impractical when traveling in economy. It eliminates the economical aspect of the cheap ticket.
Having said this, should anyone wish to have a knife on a plane, one must only acquire a first class ticket. Knives are provided to you at no additional cost. (You can be expected to cut your steak with a fork, now can you?)
Eliminate TSA. Let travelers get back to living their lives without all the drama at the airport in trying to get into the plane. It doesn’t take a genius to circumvent any “safety” rules we can come up with. It’s all just, (very expensive), window dressing. That’s money much better spent on education and health care.
Comment by Terry H — March 28, 2013 @ 9:38 pm
Mixed emotions. I carry a small knife everywhere. I regard it as more of a tool than anything. But it locks open, desirable so I don’t cut myself! A small knife is not going to get anyone in cockpit and a screw driver, as someone pointed out may well be able to do more serious damage. So?? I would be curious to compare current rule to whatever existed pre 9-11. Whatever it was I do not recall there being any problem.
Comment by Ed Schlotman — March 30, 2013 @ 10:37 pm
I am 70 years old and have flown 100,000+ miles with my 1 3/8” Swiss pocket knife up until 9/11. I hope somebody feels safer now that I have to put it in my checked bag that half the time ends up other than where I am going.
Comment by William Moore — April 5, 2013 @ 11:21 pm