[NYCFarmboy]

Air marshal drops bullets, leaves plane

CHICAGO (AP) — A U.S. air marshal removed himself from a Southwest Airlines flight Thursday after dropping a clip of bullets on the floor just before the plane was to take off, an airline spokeswoman said.

The marshal arrived at Midway International Airport on a flight from Philadelphia and was boarding a flight to Kansas City when the clip fell to the floor, scattering bullets, Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger told the Chicago Tribune for a story on its website.

"Since he was no longer traveling incognito, he decided not to continue on the flight," Eichinger said, adding that no extra screening of passengers was necessary because officials determined the bullets belonged to the air marshal. "He picked the bullets up immediately."

The flight to Kansas City was delayed 45 minutes because of the incident, she said.

The Federal Air Marshal Service declined to confirm the specifics of the mishap. But agency spokesman Dave Adams said an ammunition clip was located and turned over to the Transportation Security Administration.


http://www.usatoday.com/travel/fligh...l-mishap_x.htm

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Holy cow who cares? Is this a slow news day or something?

What is next? They send a police officer home from work early when he realized he forgot his baton at home?

[zmcgill]

Originally Posted by Socially Awkward Solo

What is next? They send a police officer home from work early when he realized he forgot his baton at home?

Haha, true.

[ambush]

That's really a retarded conclusion.

Since they now know who I am, I won't protect the flight.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

I really wonder how the media even finds out about such yawner stories. Did some passenger on the plane call USA today with the "scoop"?

[::maroma::]

Originally Posted by ambush

That's really a retarded conclusion.

Since they now know who I am, I won't protect the flight.

Exactly.

So say I'm a terrorist and I happen to be on that flight and planning on doin some nasty stuff. This Air Marshall makes his presence known by dropping some bullets, and then I see him leave the plane and not come back. Now I say to myself "OK, there was an Air Marshall on this plane, now there isn't. I guess my plan is a GO!"

I suppose one might assume that there was yet another Air Marshall in disguise somewhere on the flight as a backup or whatever. I certainly hope that's the case.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Originally Posted by ::maroma::

Exactly.

So say I'm a terrorist and I happen to be on that flight and planning on doin some nasty stuff. This Air Marshall makes his presence known by dropping some bullets, and then I see him leave the plane and not come back. Now I say to myself "OK, there was an Air Marshall on this plane, now there isn't. I guess my plan is a GO!"

I suppose one might assume that there was yet another Air Marshall in disguise somewhere on the flight as a backup or whatever. I certainly hope that's the case.

Na he blew his cover so he left the plane, called the office and shortly after another mysterious passenger boarded the plane and took his seat. A passenger with shifty eyes

[davesimondotcom]

Originally Posted by Socially Awkward Solo

A passenger with shifty eyes

Ahah! Shifty eyes! Everyone knows that's a sign of... something.

[turtle777]

Well, they should have grounded that flight, instead of letting it fly w/o protection.
Just have the passengers wait, uhm, say 3 months. By then they would have forgotten that that guy was a marshall...

-t

[FireWire]

Well, according to this article, linked from the quoted article,

Marshals are supposed to fly incognito so terrorists can't overpower them and seize their pistols to hijack a plane.

[...]

"If a terrorist can identify a marshal and they have a knife, they can walk by, slit their throat and take their gun."

Which makes sense... No gun is better than a gun in the wrong hands.

[dcmacdaddy]

Originally Posted by FireWire

Well, according to this article, linked from the quoted article, Which makes sense... No gun is better than a gun in the wrong hands.

Umm, how does a terrorist get a knife on a plane in the first place? Hell, for over a year after the attacks of September 11th you couldn't bring nail clippers on a plane, let alone a knife capable of slitting someone's throat. This is some flawed logic, if you ask me.

[FireWire]

But they still can overpower him. And it's not that easy to fire a weapon in a crowded plane without killing an innocent or damaging the plane and depressurize it. And there's still the possibility that the hijackers have accomplice working around planes that would conveniently hide weapons in it...

[baw]

damaging the plane and depressurize it.

I think Mythbusters busted that one.

[abe]

There are a few common items that can be modified in flight to become effective weapons.

And the rounds used by Air Marshals are frangible.

A recently developed technology known as frangible ammunition could considerably reduce the risk of both a bullet seriously damaging the aircraft, and a passenger being hit by an off-target bullet. Unlike conventional ammunition, frangible bullets do not ricochet, and are noticeably more accurate than regular bullets. These characteristics would drastically reduce the risk of an innocent bystander accidentally being hit by an errant bullet. Sinterfire, the ammunitions’ developer, asserts that frangible bullets also offer the unique characteristic of “the ability to shoot steel targets without damage” (Sinterfire). Although this does not necessarily apply to an aircraft structure, usually made of aluminum, this quality does reduce the risk of a frangible bullet piercing the fuselage, or causing serious damage to the aircraft (Elbert). This unique combination of characteristics demonstrates that a handgun could be threatening to a terrorist and protective of the airplane and its passengers.

[Rumor]

Originally Posted by abe

There are a few common items that can be modified in flight to become effective weapons.

And the rounds used by Air Marshals are frangible.

Nice find, Abe.

[ghporter]

Abe, that quote is good, but frangible ammunition has been around for a LONG time. They just came up with a way to make it more frangible in a confined space.

Frangible just means that the projectile breaks up when it changes media. That is, when it stops traveling through air and starts traveling through something else-seat, bad guy, wall covering. etc. Since bullets naturally change their behavior as they change media (kind of like light refraction, but with more variables), the designers use this to taylor how the bullet will perform.

"Sintered" metals are powdered metals that are compressed into solid masses, usually with both pressure and heat. So you adjust the pressure and heat to make the bulk of the bullet solid long enough to get it to load, fire and fly, but not so much that it will remain solid when it encounters a resistant medium. By the way, this also ensures that 100% of the bullet's kinetic energy will be deposited in whatever it hits, which translates into good stopping power-without much penetration. And THAT means a wounded bad guy, not a dead one.

[production_coordinator]

Originally Posted by dcmacdaddy

Umm, how does a terrorist get a knife on a plane in the first place? Hell, for over a year after the attacks of September 11th you couldn't bring nail clippers on a plane, let alone a knife capable of slitting someone's throat. This is some flawed logic, if you ask me.

It really isn't that hard. The knife doesn't need to be made out of metal... some knives are ceramic... and would easily slip through security.

[abe]

Originally Posted by production_coordinator

It really isn't that hard. The knife doesn't need to be made out of metal... some knives are ceramic... and would easily slip through security.

I believe anyone who's spent time in prison would be able to fashion a slashing weapon while in flight using allowable materials. But those activities MIGHT draw some attention to the person doing it. So the next thought would be to...

CENSORED FOR REASONS OF AIRLINE PASSENGER SAFETY AND NATIONAL SECURITY

[Sky Captain]

A dangerous passanger can't get to the flight crew any longer.
By the time a dangerous passanger tore through the door, I'd have time to ready my 226
and neutralize the problem. And have my first oficer respond "nice grouping".

[ghporter]

I'm still trying to figure out how dropping a magazine (NOT "clip") could cause the ammunition in it ("bullets" are only part of the cartridge) to pop out and fly all over the place... I also can't find any mention of this event that does not substantially quote (or include without obvious quotes) the USA Today article. Makes me wonder...

So there's the "this reporter doesn't know the first thing about firearms" aspect, the "if that's true then how accurate is the part about "bullets scattering" bit?" aspect, and then the why didn'd anyone else report this" bit to contend with. Which makes me wonder how accurate the basic report is... And I have seen many people drop pistol magazines to the ground (concrete floors of shooting ranges), though I've never seen one pop rounds out when it hit. Again, it makes me wonder.

[Sky Captain]

I've dropped a full 15 rounder and had 3 pop out.
It's plausable.

[Jawbone54]

This thread could use some Fife, seeing that the thread title looked so promising, yet didn't deliver Mayberry goodness...

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Sky Captain

I've dropped a full 15 rounder and had 3 pop out.
It's plausable.

I must have led a sheltered life...

Jawbone, thanks for the "reality check." Don's been gone for a while now, but he sure stands out in the mind.