37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
Attributes | |
ACN | 862319 |
Time | |
Date | 200911 |
Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
Place | |
Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
State Reference | US |
Aircraft 1 | |
Make Model Name | B757-200 |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
Flight Phase | Parked |
Flight Plan | IFR |
Person 1 | |
Function | Pilot Not Flying Captain |
Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 145 Flight Crew Total 11500 Flight Crew Type 2800 |
Person 2 | |
Function | Flight Attendant In Charge Flight Attendant (On Duty) |
Events | |
Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural Security Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
During cruise the purser told us that she was looking over the manifest for wheel chair passengers and noticed that we had an armed law enforcement officer on board. This was a surprise to all of us. I asked her to go back and confirm if this was accurate and update me with the information. The passenger turns out to be onboard. He works for the department of homeland security. The purser quietly and politely asked if he had addition paperwork for us and at first he could not find it. He did confirm that he was carrying. I sent a message to the departure station stating that it appears that we had an armed law enforcement officer on board and why were we not informed before departure. I also asked purser to have officer see me after the flight. He came to the cockpit after the flight and handed me his forms. He did not show me any other credentials such as an identification card or badge. He stated that he has been doing this for ten years and this was the first time there was a problem. He stated that he normally flies on other carriers. He implied that it was our carrier's fault because he felt rushed to go to his seat and take it and therefore did not come up to the cockpit before the flight to identify himself. I heard the customer service representative make a PA announcement to please step into your row to let other people go by but that was it. The two flight attendants at door 2 stated that he made no attempt to either identify himself or ask to go to the cockpit. He asked me 'what should he do?' announce to the world that he was carrying!? I said; yes if necessary; only fams need to remain confidential; but that I hoped that he would be more discrete and could quietly tell one of the flight attendants that he needed to see me with extra paper work. I said that if necessary; we would delay the flight for him to find the time to comply with this regulation. At this point I did not ask to see his credentials because to me he seemed to feel very self important and I did not want to escalate the event. His form showed that he had flown on one of our carrier's flights earlier that morning and that portion of the form was still attached. He may not have informed that captain either or they forgot to keep their copy of the form. I can only guess! They may have flown that flight with an unknown armed passenger on board. This person needs to be reeducated on security and regulations. Our customer service representatives also need to insure that the addition boarding passes are printed and delivered to the cockpit prior to the close out of a flight.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Home Land Security Department Officer carrying a weapon boarded a passenger flight without complying with appropriate procedures. A Flight Attendant discovered his presence on the passenger manifest in flight.
Narrative: During cruise the Purser told us that she was looking over the manifest for wheel chair passengers and noticed that we had an armed Law Enforcement Officer on board. This was a surprise to all of us. I asked her to go back and confirm if this was accurate and update me with the information. The passenger turns out to be onboard. He works for the Department of Homeland Security. The Purser quietly and politely asked if he had addition paperwork for us and at first he could not find it. He did confirm that he was carrying. I sent a message to the departure station stating that it appears that we had an armed Law Enforcement Officer on board and why were we not informed before departure. I also asked Purser to have Officer see me after the flight. He came to the cockpit after the flight and handed me his forms. He did not show me any other credentials such as an identification card or badge. He stated that he has been doing this for ten years and this was the first time there was a problem. He stated that he normally flies on other carriers. He implied that it was our Carrier's fault because he felt rushed to go to his seat and take it and therefore did not come up to the cockpit before the flight to identify himself. I heard the Customer Service Representative make a PA announcement to please step into your row to let other people go by but that was it. The two Flight Attendants at door 2 stated that he made no attempt to either identify himself or ask to go to the cockpit. He asked me 'What should he do?' announce to the world that he was carrying!? I said; yes if necessary; only FAMS need to remain confidential; but that I hoped that he would be more discrete and could quietly tell one of the flight attendants that he needed to see me with extra paper work. I said that if necessary; we would delay the flight for him to find the time to comply with this regulation. At this point I did not ask to see his credentials because to me he seemed to feel very self important and I did not want to escalate the event. His form showed that he had flown on one of our Carrier's flights earlier that morning and that portion of the form was still attached. He may not have informed that Captain either or they forgot to keep their copy of the form. I can only guess! They may have flown that flight with an unknown armed passenger on board. This person needs to be reeducated on security and regulations. Our Customer Service Representatives also need to insure that the addition boarding passes are printed and delivered to the cockpit prior to the close out of a flight.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.