Can you really walk on a plane with a 4" knife???? (1 Viewer)

[Gordon Moore]

I've been reading some really wild stuff that you can walk on a plane in the U.S. with a knife so long as it's 4" or less. That would explain a story from a friend of mine who was travelling by plane through the states and bought a rather sharp letter opener and was not questioned once, even though it was carry on. The minute she travelled from Winnipeg to Calgary with the same letter opener, she was stopped and had it removed.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/...ity/index.html
The was an unsubstantiated report that people who fly 1st class get rather sharp steak knives with their dinner. Can anyone confirm this?
[Edited last by Gordon Moore on September 13, 2001 at 01:35 PM]

 

[Gordon Moore]

Uggh, I wish you could fix your own header. Of course I meant plane and not plan.

 

[RAF]

Header fixed, Gordon.
And, hopefully, the answer to the question posed is, "Not any more."
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RAF
[Demented Video Dude since 1997]
[Computer Maven since 1956]
["PITA" since 1942]
Link Removed

 

[Gordon Moore]

Thanks Robert.
I cann spel relly I kan.

Gord

 

[Brett Jason]

I live in Boston area. I carry a Leatherman Wave in my briefcase at all times. I've probably flown 20 times in the last 2 years. I have never been asked to even take it out and show what it is. Here's a picture:
http://www.toolup.com/Leatherman/Leatherman_Wave.asp

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Well, not any more. My son went to Hawaii last spring and didn't realize that he had a 6" blade in his backpack until he was halfway back. It was meant to be put in his luggage -and no one said a word to him.
Glenn

 

[Aaron Copeland]

As others have said...not anymore. No knives of any kind will be allowed on planes from now on. They aren't even going to allow plastic knives for flights that serve meals. So I guess meals will pretty much consist of sandwiches or some kind of wrap from now on.
Pocket knives used to be perfectly fine on flights. I carried mine on planes a number of times. Also, think about the reports that they may have used box cutters. The blades on box cutters are very thin and don't even have the same shape as a standard knife. Now imagine that same box cutter in a carry-on that also contains a CD player, maybe some various cables (power, network, etc...), shaving razor/electric razor, etc... It's quite easy to imagine a squarish box cutter being overlooked/missed on the x-ray image of a cluttered carry-on bag. Up until now, the people manning those checkpoints were mostly just checking for guns.
Aaron

 

[Gordon Moore]

Hindsight truly is 20/20. I always thought that these things were naturally searched for on air planes. This will be an interesting footnote in history. Kind of like today, it's hard to imagine that babies sat up front in a car on their mom or pop's lap secured by nothing more than their parents arms, forget about the seatbelt (that's only about 30 years ago). 10 years from now we will shake our head and say "what were we thinking?".
I wonder if the over-reaction will be to the degree that happens in schools today with regards to violence and drugs and 0 tolerance policies. I guess there needs to be an over-reaction because you just can't take that chance. Do you think we will return to complacency in say 5, 10 or 20 yrs? Interesting. I think.

 

[Bill Catherall]

I've always found it really strange and partially scary that I've been allowed to take my small pocket knife on board. It's attached to my keys and I take them out of my pocket, hand them to the security "officer" as I pass through the metal detector, and they hand them back. Only once, about 10 years ago, a security "officer" closely inspected a pair of fingernail clippers I had but gave it back. Nobody has every questioned the small but very sharp knife I carry.
I've seen the x-ray operators being trained before. The trainers put objects that would look like bombs and guns through the x-ray with luggage to teach the operator what to look for. Knives were not among the dummy objects.
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Bill

 

[Philip_G]

it's actually 6"
sometimes it's allow and sometimes it isn't, the regulation says not more than 6" though.

 

[Matt Stryker]

The real problem is polymer or fiberglass can be made into a sharp instrument and it will never set off any alarm. The only way to detect these types of knives is either a physical patdown or the identification of suspicious individuals BEFORE they board a plane.
The other great combatant to this is the presence of a firearm armed sky marshall, who posesses the means to overcome any knife attack.
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Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.

 

[Jin E]

I always carry a 3" fold out Gerber knife on my hip and I have logged over 40,000 sky miles the last 2 years (including a trip to England) with no problems. They did give me grief about it on the way back to the US from Gatwick... they made me put it in my check in luggage.
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-Jin
My Theater

 

[Scott Dill]

I find this new regulation very disturbing. I always carry a small, quality pocket knife (or leather man now that they have one with a corkscrew ) and never once thought of it as a weapon. It is just a tool that I think would come in handy in the event of an emergency (cutting seatbelts, clothing, anything that prevents people from escaping the damaged aircraft)
If I needed a weapon on an airplane, a 7 pound laptop computer would be far more effective that a box cutter. And remember the bad guys will be carrying box cutters or non-metallic knives that will not be detected without full body searches.
I am perfectly willing to submit to luggage searches, long lines and more personal scrutiny when I fly, but this new regulation is just a "feel good" rule which will provide NO additional security. Our FAA should be focussing on real methods to make our flights more secure not making up ridiculous ideas like "no more steak knives with dinner".
If makes everyone feel better, I certainly don't mind checking my pocket knife, but what really disturbs me is that the FAA really thinks that this will make a difference. They kidding themselves and the rest of us.... It's disgraceful.

 

[JustinS]

I have flown with my Benchmade knife with a 2 3/4" blade about a dozen times. Only once did it raise eyebrows from a security agent but a supervisor came over and told her it was fine.
I won't miss not being able to fly with it, however. What I will miss is curbside check-in (used in conjunction with e-tickets). Waiting in line at the ticket counter is my least favorite part of the air travel process.

 

[Jeremy-P]

If I needed a weapon on an airplane, a 7 pound laptop computer would be far more effective that a box cutter. And remember the bad guys will be carrying box cutters or non-metallic knives that will not be detected without full body searches.

I have to disagree about the box cutter, i used to work with one all the time at work, and they're pretty effective at slicing both flesh and cardboard. They're almost razor-sharp and although the blade can only retract about 5" max, i could imagine it would be a very effective weapon on a plane.
I do agree with your feelings on security, it's a knee-jerk reaction in order to comfort those who still need to fly home. I don't think there is any real airport security, not a type that could prevent hijackings 100%, there are always ways to circumvent it. If someone has the will to do it, if they have no sense of mercy in that hollow, empty space where their soul should be, then it's possible, as unfortunate as it is. My condolences go out to those who suffered because of these senseless acts.

 

[Mike Lenthol]

Since we are on the plane topic, why isn't there any safeguard already in place for this kinda of thing? I remember reading somewhere on this very forum, that planes should have some sort of a "self destruct" mechanism, to safeguard from the suicide missions, then instantly somebody said that nobody would fly such a plane. True, but why isn't there anything that can take control of the plane via computer on ground. Common sense suggests that with today's technology they could easily land a plane (maybe a little rough) but safely without a pilot. And that features relatively should cost almost nothing, considering what kind of electronics are in place already.

 

[AdrianJ]

Mike,
The reason that such technology to fly planes from the ground isn't installed is because there is no way to safeguard it. How long would it be before a computer hacker had figured out how to get control of the planes?
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Adrian Jones

 

[Mike Lenthol]

Hmm, by that logic... all nuclear weapons and power plants are in danger also?

 

[MickeS]

quote:
The reason that such technology to fly planes from the ground isn't installed is because there is no way to safeguard it.
[/quote]
Where did you get that from? As far as I know, they are working on developing this technology, they have tested it with good results and as soon as it's thoroughly tested it will be implemented. I think they've already figured out the kind of security you talk about.
quote:
How long would it be before a computer hacker had figured out how to get control of the planes?
[/quote]
Like Ryan Wright put it in another thread regarding this: "Long". At least it would probably be safer than what we have now.
/Mike
[Edited last by MickeS on September 13, 2001 at 04:30 PM]

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

To anwser your question, I carry a swiss army knife in my wallet. I have ridden on a plane with this. The thing has one knife and four saws. All are three inch blades. So the anwser is yes.
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