Shame on you TSA and Delta

On Friday December 2nd 2011 I flew from Detroit to Philadelphia on flight DL1562. I got to the airport around 11:30am, printed out my boarding pass at a self-service kiosk, and approached the check-in clerk.

I informed her I was declaring firearms. She asked me to let her examine them and I opened the case, and allowed the agent to examine the pistols. She said she wasn't sure what to do. I told her I need to sign the unloaded firearms regulation and put it inside the case. The agent told me my ammunition was not packed properly.

I informed her it was packed as per TSA and delta regulations. The teller refused to call her supervisor and became very rude. I repacked the ammo just to make the clerk happy and expedite the process. The agent said she was still not satisfied.

I suggested she call over the TSA. The baggage teller (different person?) called over a TSA employee patrolling the terminal. The TSA employee asked me to repack the Ammo differently. A 2nd TSA employee walked over and told me the ammo needed to be repacked... to the way it was originally packed.

As I was repacking it I got severely cut, essentially slicing off the tip of my finger on the right hand. I was bleeding heavily, spraying blood on the counter. The TSA and counter agent offered me some tissues and a small bandaid. That’s apparently all they had.

I finally got the bleeding somewhat under control and closed up the case, and locked it up as per federal law. I told the agent I need to take the bag to TSA so they can examine it. The agent said that's incorrect, and threatened to have me arrested or kicked off the flight if I take it to the TSA.

The agent put it on the conveyor with other luggage. It took me about 30 min to clear security. Shortly after clearing security I heard a garbled announcement with my name. I walked over to the gate I was going to leave from. It took the clerk several phone calls to find the source of the page. The TSA told her that they had been paging me for an hour and that they had cut the locks to examine firearms. This assertion is a lie as I had only checked in my bag 30 min ago.

They told me they verified the guns were fine and repacked the bag for me and allowed it to be loaded on the flight - unlocked. They didnt aknowlege breaking rules, just said to deal with it when I land.

When I arrived in Philadelphia I went to luggage claim and picked up my bag. The locks were not on the case. The TSA in Detroit violated federal law by sending unlocked firearms on a commercial flight. The TSA made the luggage, and the entire flight, less safe, as well as increased the likelihood of theft of my firearms!

I contacted the damage clerk and had her call over a TSA supervisor. A TSA supervisor walked over and filled out the report. I opened the bag to verify the firearms were still there. The TSA included the 2 cut locks inside. I showed the supervisor the 2 cut Abloy 330 locks. The TSA supervisor in Philly was nice and appologized and confirmed that numerous laws were broken and took down the information for the report.

When I got home and started unpacking I noticed the rear sight on my Glock Model 35 was damaged and the sight was knocked out of place. It appears the agents were either careless, and dropped my firearm or intentionally damaged it.

I also noticed that the lock hasp on my pelican case was cracked, rendering the case no longer suitable for firearm transport. It appears it was damaged during the lock cutting process.

I was returning from a trip as a security professional from a Fortune 50 company. I have never encountered such lack of professionalism, incompetence, and disregard for federal regulations and safety.

Final Details & Thoughts
In the course of a discussion among local security professionals after this event people were cutting and pasting text directly from the TSA web site. It was astonishing to see just how specifically the screeners broke the Agency's own rules...

The Rules for Packing Ammo

Travelers must securely pack any ammunition in fiber (such as cardboard), wood or metal boxes or other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition. Firearm magazines and ammunition clips must be securely boxed or included within a hard-sided case containing an unloaded firearm.

Small arms ammunition, including ammunition not exceeding .75 caliber for a rifle or pistol and shotgun shells of any gauge, may be carried in the same hard-sided case as the firearm, as long as it follows the packing guidelines described above.

Loading Unlocked Guns on to an Aircraft

TSA must resolve all alarms of checked luggage. If a locked container containing a firearm alarms, TSA will contact the airline, who will make a reasonable attempt to contact the owner and advise the passenger to go to the screening location. If contact is not made, the container will not be placed on the aircraft.

Thank you Deviant for the help and publishing my account (http://deviating.net/firearms/packing/accounts/0045.html).