Here is a link to an interesting article regarding Commercial Aviation safety.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/09/INGIVJPJR91.DTL

Sobering...

TR

I had the distinct pleasure of flying on 8-10-06 from Ontario CA to Seattle WA. Part of my "Flying EDC" is a bottle of water. Being denied hydration, except at the quantities and schedule of the flight attendants was an unpleasant consequence (Especially for an ETSer). As a personal protest, I carried aboard a small tube of non-metallic lip balm.

My carry-on day pack contained a veritable ETS arsenal (PSK [TSA modified], FAK, cell phone, 5 flashlights, FRS radios, SW/AM/FM radio, MP3 player, digital camera, 5 N-95 masks, etc… Not even a second look at the contents. My son managed to get a set of toy handcuffs (metal) on the plane.

Aside from the liquid/gel/cream/beverage ban, the biggest change I saw was the random searches of passengers at the gate.

Post 8-10... I have re-read the “Flying the deadly skies” article and will state: It is comforting to know my fellow passengers will no longer be able to bring Fresca or KY jelly on the airplane.

Feeling oh so safer in the air, TR

Fortunately, AA (American Airlines, not Alcoholics Anonymous) had laid in a decent supply of Heineken for my flights to and from St Maarten this past week. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

In a similar vein, some years ago there were reports that the US military was ignoring the weak spots in its strategy & tactics that were highlighted by the results of a large-scale war game -- instead, they simply changed the rules of the war game to make sure the "right" team won.