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SW Pilot's Screening ends in Uproar

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flashpoint

Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2002
Posts
21
Unlike USAir, which fires it's pilot's at the slightest incling of non-compliance, my bet is that Herb will give this guy a pat on the back and just ask him nicely not to do it again...


Airport screening ends in uproar
2002-02-08
By Bryan Dean
The Oklahoman


A Southwest Airlines pilot is on leave while the company investigates a disturbance he was involved in at Will Rogers World Airport, a Southwest spokeswoman said.
An Oklahoma City police report stated that the bag of the pilot, Larry Hargus, was pulled aside Tuesday at a security checkpoint so it could be searched. Hargus became agitated after he waited several minutes and asked screeners twice to search his bag so he could walk to his aircraft, the report stated.

At that point, the report stated, a National Guardsman assigned to airport security asked Hargus for identification. Hargus lifted the identification badge on his shirt but would not remove the card when the guardsman asked, the report stated. The guardsman then grabbed the tag from Hargus' shirt, and Hargus responded by grabbing the identification tag on the guardsman's shirt, the report stated. Police then arrived and mediated the dispute.

The report stated that Hargus told police he was not upset that his bag was being searched, only that other people were being screened after his bag was set down and not searched immediately.

Southwest ground personnel then talked to Hargus, who made a phone call, the report stated. During that phone call, the police report stated, Hargus stepped into the hall and began loudly telling passengers at another gate why the plane was late.

Hargus was not allowed to fly and was escorted from the security area. The report stated that he later returned in street clothes to fly as a passenger, but was told by a Southwest supervisor that he would not be allowed to fly Tuesday.

Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Brewer said the company is investigating the incident.

"The investigation is ongoing, and our pilot is on leave during the investigation," Brewer said.

Karen Carney, spokeswoman for Oklahoma City airports, said airport employees and flight crews are screened like everyone else.

"I think it's important for people to realize that everybody is being screened, and the screeners aren't making exceptions for anyone," Carney said. "For the most part, employees of the airport and the airlines have been accepting of the new regulations. They have a lot at stake."

Brewer said the post-Sept. 11 security measures are not easy on employees, but they are necessary.

"It's an adjustment for all of us here at Southwest Airlines, but all of our employees try to comply as closely as possible to the security regulations. This would be an isolated incident."
 
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Well I find this quite intresting. My mom flys alot in her job. Once in Clombus I believe, she went though security and she beeped at the metal dectotor, but the people that are supposed to do the wanding were too obsesed into arguing who was going to do what they didn't even look. She stood there for a second, after that she goes the x-ray machines lines to put her laptop into her bag. Well when she was done with that she waited for another second or two and finally left.

This is our new security it sounds more like a joke than anything else. I agree that baggage handlers, and other employess should be screened but pilots that are on duty and are going to be incharge of an aircraft should not have to go though as intense security as the non-pilots.
 

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