APA takes a stand: no xray, no public pat down

[BoilerUP]

A little thread drift but it is a related subject.

The line about "100 chest xrays per hour" shocked me.

I did a quick search and that number sounds inaccurate. I did learn that it will take me 27 years to establish a 1-100 chance of developing a fatal cancer. Considering that I am 13 years into the process really suks.

Another item I found was the huge impact of solar flares. Unfortunately, a "solar maximum" is supposed to begin during the summer of 2011 and it will last more than one year. The amount of radiation exposure during this period will be the equivalent of 10 to 20 YEARS of radiation, depending on the type of flying involved.

If I was flying long haul over the higher latitudes I would seriously bid a different schedule.

Bizjet studs up in the high 40's and even 510 are going to bear the brunt of the radiation.

We may need to update the retirement charts as a whole bunch of us are going to get nuked over the next couple of years. Good times.

AC 120-61A says the recommended occupational exposure limit for ionizing radiation is a 5-year average effective dose of 20 millisieverts per year, with no more than 50 millisieverts in a single year.

To put the amount of flying it would take to get to the recommended 20 millisievert annual limit of exposure into perspective, after taking into consideration the 2.95 millisievert average exposure from natural sources everybody gets, you could fly 40 round-trips from NYC to Dubai, or 62 round trips from Beijing to Chicago, or 500 domestic mid-latitude, 4-hour legs up at FL450.

Concern about cosmic radiation exposure *is* valid...but I think how many Diet Cokes or cheeseburgers the average pilot consumes will be a FAR larger factor in their risk for health issues and/or cancer than the amount of radiation one gets while flying.

 

[Kharma Police]

Step 1. Designate a city - preferably one with a high pilot population.

Step 2. Pick a date, time and terminal.

Step 3. Have every pilot in the area go through security and request the pat down option. Be sure to leave the computer in the wheelaboard, stock up on plenty of pocket change and carry your phone.

Step 4. When finally clear of security, repeat Step 3.

Bring a terminal to a grinding halt a few times and I'll bet Crew Pass will happen sooner rather than later.

deleted

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

More APA bravado, chest thumping and insolence... all bark no bite..... and you guys fall for it....everytime...

The APA has no game in DC. Recall the ALPA pilots picketed the TSA and got the Administrator out into the rain to discuss the issue....

ALPA has been working on crewpass... and it is in the operational test phase... What is the APA doing? Anyone can talk tough in a press release.....

CrewPASS leverages the underlying CASS architecture and introduces a state-of-the-art fingerprint biometric capability. Combining these two technologies provides the higher level of security necessary to enable expedited clearance for crewmembers. The CrewPASS concept was first conceived and promoted to the TSA by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). ALPA continues to provide the grassroots support necessary to move the program forward. An existing demonstration program for pilots, including a biometric capability since May 2009, is operating at the following airports:

• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) – Concourse C and D
• Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
• Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE)

Participating flight crewmembers will still be able to use these locations without biometrics for an extended period of time. Enrollment will be required in the future and ARINC will provide updates on all significant dates. Flight attendants are to be added to CrewPASS at a future date.

 

[JohnQ]

ALPA has been working on crewpass... and it is in the operational test phase...

Really? Where is your evidence. ALPA has "been working" on CrewPass for 8 years now? How many more years of degradation do we have to endure while ALPA continues to "work on" CrewPass? I'm no ALPA-basher, but ALPA National has spent about 4-5 too many years toeing the "trust us, we know better than you so shut up" line. For once I would like to see some piss and vinegar in an ALPA policy and press release instead of the endless pablum that seems to define it these days.

Yes I know all the responses: "Anger is not a negotiating strategy, we really are making great progress behind the scenes, etc." Most of the time I actually accept that. I hope you understand why most pilots' patience has worn beyond thin on this issue.

What is the APA doing? Anyone can talk tough in a press release.....

APA is great at putting out pointless tough-guy press releases. However in this instance I am glad to see it. I will be following the day-to-day reality beyond the press release to see if it amounts to anything.

 

[densoo]

ALPA has been working on crewpass... and it is in the operational test phase... What is the APA doing? Anyone can talk tough in a press release.....

ALPA has now dropped the issue. It is over. See post #15 on this thread. That's their statement.

-- they developed

-- the TSA tested it

-- the TSA has approved it

-- ALPA is "urging" carriers to adopt it, like carriers take their orders from ALPA

-- now it sits on the shelf until further notice

It's done.

 

[jonjuan]

Concern about cosmic radiation exposure *is* valid...but I think how many Diet Cokes or cheeseburgers the average pilot consumes will be a FAR larger factor in their risk for health issues and/or cancer than the amount of radiation one gets while flying.

BINGO-Aspartame and red meat will do far more damage than radiation at altitude.

 

[densoo]

Getting some traction?

Dallas News picks up the story. Pretty much a rehash, but in the public sphere now. This is how CrewPass will come to be, if it ever does--when the public is fed up with pilots jumping the first class, handicapped, and elderly/handicapped security line--and the airline is shamed into paying for it when they realize the negative publicity from this starts to eat away at the positive publicity created by their advertising budget.

----------------

Allied Pilots Association president Dave Bates is suggesting that American Airlines pilots go through a pat-down search by Transportation Security Administration personnel rather undergo the repeated radiation from the "advanced imaging technology" body scanners used at many airports.

That doesn't mean he likes the pat-downs, which can include hand-sliding over the groin and buttocks.

"There is absolutely no denying that the enhanced pat-down is a demeaning experience," Bates told members in a message Monday.
"In my view, it is unacceptable to submit to one in public while wearing the uniform of a professional airline pilot. I recommend that all pilots insist that such screening is performed in an out-of-view area to protect their privacy and dignity," he wrote.

He wants TSA to come up with a way to let pilots avoid the same high-intensity searches that the public endures at TSA checkpoints.

"While I'm sure that each of us recognizes that the threats to our lives are real, the practice of airport security screening of airline pilots has spun out of control and does nothing to improve national security," Bates wrote.

"It's long past time that policymakers take the steps necessary to exempt commercial pilots from airport security screening and grant designated pilot access to SIDA utilizing either Crew Pass or biometric identification."
Keep reading for the entire Bates message.

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/11/apa-president-advises-against.html

 

[BeCareful!]

I'm really surprised the APA is condoning pat downs, even if done private. I say "no way." Unacceptable. You're either going to let my fly the plane or not, and truthfully, I don't care one way or the other. My employer might, but not me. In any case, it matters not what any of us have hiding on our persons, because we are locked in the cockpit anyway. This is all just stupid eyewash.

 

[mamba20]

ALPA can suck it. Worthless and a total waste of my money. I'm actually exploring how to opt out of ALPA. I'd rather my money went to a charity or some entity that won't waste it like ALPA does.

 

[pilotyip]

Everyone in the industry should get their groups to adopt this standard and if necessary shut down the airline industry for a day to illustrate the absurdity of the TSA procedures for flight crewmembers that are in CASS.