TSA confiscates geologist's rock

There is more to this story that wasn't reported. Should you find yourself flying and you have some rocks with you you have some options. You can check a bag with your rock in it, or you can put it in carry on and pull it out for inspection. ( MOST TSA screeners will just admire the rock and let it go, but you do have some people at some airports that think they are the rock Nazis or something ) Common sense needs to come into play also. If you have a rock that weighs 30#s you should check it in with your luggage. If you have some golf ball size rocks, just pull them out of your carry on so they can inspect them and let them go. Attitude comes into play also, if your hostile with them, they will be more reluctant to let your 20#+ rock to go through. I had a friend who actually picked up a bag that was FULL of rocks off the "rollers" and pulled just about every muscle in his back. He was a short man in his mid fiftys who now is on permenet disability. When I see articles like this that slam the TSA for petty stuff like this, it just makes me sick. I could go on and on but this is a rock tumbling forum...

Yes, i do work for TSA, and if anyone has any questions about how to get thier rocks though the screening process the right way, please feel free to PM me. We at TSA are here to help, not be jerks, and we like the same from others. ( Who doesn't at thier workplace? )

Take care - Eric

Oh I forgot to mention that TSA does NOT "confiscate" items. People are given options on what they can do with the items. Oh and no, we don't all have large knife collections or something like so many passengers seem to think. lol ( The items are either smelted down or sold at some sort of auction I hear ) - Eric

in the Post 911 world - I am always happy to see some aggressive action for security purposes. Your characterization of using the rock as a mace is exactly what a clever terrorist could do. Are the chances remote, Yes, of course they are minuscule, maybe one in a billion....but out of all the days of flying since history there is only one 911 and only one shoe bomber, etc...

yesterday a private plane crashed into an apartment bldg in midtown Manhattan and burned for hours with a tragic outcome for the student pilot and his instructor. Why do we allow joy riding in airplanes near the empire state building and other NYC landmarks post 911? Isn't this government supposed to be vigilant and protective? Why are rules being relaxed when we should be ramping up on making flying safer for everyone. We should not allow any liquids to be carried on, nor unknown medicine marked bottles or knitting needles or anything that is an easy mark for terrorism.

I have carried rocks in my carry on luggage for years but have switched to putting it into checked baggage for the obvious reasons. It was embarrassing trying to explain why I am carrying rocks home and I obviously meant none any harm

One time I forgot what I was doing and had a souvenir penknife(short dull blade with probably just above zero potential for injury). I was stopped and luckily had time to mail it home before my flight. In any event I was happy to know that someone was actually checking for something.

TSA may technically not "confiscate" items, but in my experience they do not offer any practical options that permit making your flight. How is a person in line at security supposed to mail a forbidden item or put it in checked baggage that is already on its way through baggage handling? That is nothing but a copout insult to the traveler's intelligence. If a person enters the security line with a forgidden item he is going to lose it. I lost a tiny claw hammer with screwdriver in the handle once, and will never be convinced that it is not in some TSA worker's toolbox. The truth is that TSA practices de facto confiscation.

The unfortunate aspect of TSA is that it is comprised of fallible humans exercising judgement without adequate guidelines. "Dual-use" is an absurd judgemental standard. Anything that can be carried could be considered dual-use. I think TSA personnel are at least 95.1 % competent. The rest simply lack the judgemental skills to function properly in that capacity. Unfortunately the good professor got one and an equally incompetent supervisor. Profiling might have avoided this situation.

That story reminds me of a time I forgot that I had a swiss army knife still on my belt when I went through security. I fly much more than I would like to, I would rather drive if time doesn't get in the way. I had put it in check in luggage on a trip, then put it on my belt once I left the airport. The TSA guy ran the wand on me and found it as I completely forgot I still had it on my belt. When he found it I said "crap" I forgot to put it in my checked in baggage. I told him that I didn't want to lose it as it was a present from my kids last Christmas. He told me I could just go back to my airline counter and they could box it up for me. Back to the counter I went, they put my little knife in a nice sized box and I picked it up when I got to my final destination. Simple and fast. Another reason to make sure you have a little time to work with when you fly.

As far as what you are allowed to carry on now. I think some of the rules are somewhat of a mind game thing. I use a cane from time to time. No problem carrying that with me when I fly. With all the years of training in use of a night stick, I have no doubt of what my abilities are using the cane for other purposes than helping me walk when my back is giving me problems. I can also say after 26 years that a large majority of peoples problems with law enforcement comes from their attitude, or lack there of. TSA people are just people. There are always a "few" in any line of work. Bill

Rocks don't hijack planes, people hijack planes.

Anyone see 60 Minutes last Sunday about the no-fly list? I guess we give the list to airlines around the world to screen passengers. But some of the worst people WE KNOW ABOUT are not on it because that would "compromise sources and methods."

When I was about to fly home from Japan one time, I almost had a music box confiscated that I had purchased for my girl.

I've got this cooler that I use a lot for rock equipment. It holds the pick, collecting bags, etc., and rocks on the return trip. If you duct tape them up they work well as checked luggage. When you check them in it gets amusing since the airline folks always have to know what's in there. On one return trip, though, my cooler exceeded 50 lbs so I had to take out rocks and put them in the suitcase with my clothes.

I do agree that TSA's position about "non confiscation" is an insult to our intelligence. I'd like to know what airport you can take off from, where it is practical to leave the line, stand in line at the airline counter to get a box or whatever, and go through the security line again. Sure. Works great if you get there 24 hours or so early. Anybody been to BWI lately, the Southwest area in particular? If you saw what it looked like last Sunday you would know exactly what I mean. Same for returning it to the car or giving it to somebody seeing you off. I don't go through any airports where the people seeing someone off are anywhere close to the machines.

Here's the one that really fries me. I got one of those passes to accompany an 80+ year old traveler to the gate and after her plane took off and I had left the boarding area, I realized I'd left my plastic Yellowstone coffee mug behind. The gate in question was in clear view of the screeners, just across the open area. When I returned to the area -- carrying nothing, not even a purse -- TSA refused to allow me to go back for the mug without repeating the complete screening process. This was extremely frustrating since they had plenty of staff, enough that someone could have accompanied me across the hallway or even walked over and picked up the mug; this would have taken 30 seconds or less. There were airline gate agents right there, also, and if we could have called them they could have retrieved the mug. I suggested both of the above but the collective IQ and/or common sense of the TSA crew that day was about on the level of one of my dogs. Or maybe I shouldn't be insulting my dogs. On top of it, I hit the random number or whatever and was subjected to the complete wanding.

Needless to say this was a waste of time and money. I wrote to TSA and airport management about it right afterwards and while the emails were acknowledged, I know very well that this accomplishes nothing except to give the victim an opportunity to vent.

BTW my husband and I were up to the screener tables and while getting out the laptop I found a mini Swiss Army knife that had been forgotten and left in the backpack. No way was I going to just hand this over, so I did what I had to do -- buried it in the backpack and went through with it. I got lucky. I've spent enormous amounts of time hung up by the mag light in my purse. When I finally figured out what was triggering the problem, I started telling them ahead of time if they stopped me, but it really didn't help much.