Remote-Controlled Toys and the TSA
Remote controlled toys are getting more scrutiny:
Airport screeners are giving additional scrutiny to remote-controlled toys because terrorists could use them to trigger explosive devices, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.
The TSA suggests travelers place remote-controlled toys in checked luggage.
The TSA stopped short of banning the toys in carry-on bags but suggested travelers place them in checked luggage.
Okay, let’s think this through. The one place where you don’t need a modified remote-controlled toy is in the passenger cabin, because you have your hands available to push any required buttons. But a remote-controlled toy in checked luggage, now that’s a clever idea. I put my modified remote-controlled toy bomb in my checked suitcase, and use the controller to detonate it once I’m in the air.
So maybe we want the remote-controlled toy in carry-on luggage, where there’s a greater chance of detecting it (at the security checkpoint). And maybe we want to require the remote controller to be in checked luggage.
Or maybe….
In any case, it’s a great movie plot.
EDITED TO ADD (10/4): Here are two news stories and the DHS press release.
greg • October 4, 2007 10:33 AM
I would think that small/large RC devices are probably not a good idea on a plane anyway. With the aircraft electronic interference issues and all that.
I realize that the interference issue is perhaps not as serious as they claim. But not using electronic devices for take of landing or a cell phone for the flight is not a hit to my freedom or liberty.