An airline pilot is accused of trying to board a flight at Buffalo for New York City with a loaded revolver in his bag, and authorities believe he’d been flying with it for two days.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged 52-year-old Brett Dieter of Barboursville, Va., with possessing a concealed firearm. A screener spotted the .357 Magnum before Dieter boarded Friday at Buffalo Niagara International Airport.
Dieter was to pilot a Piedmont Airlines flight to LaGuardia International Airport.
Investigators believe Dieter had been flying with the gun since Wednesday, when he flew from Charlottesville, Va., to New York City without having his bag X-rayed. He’d made seven flights since.
Dieter appeared without a lawyer in court. He’s due back May 23. He couldn’t be reached by phone Friday.
A Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman said pilots cannot carry weapons on board aircraft unless they are members of a federal Flight Deck Officer Program. She said Dieter is not a member of the program, and TSA is investigating what routes he took to board planes he previously piloted. She said that in many airports, pilots can reach the aircraft through “access points” other than checkpoints.
US Airways spokesman William McGlashen said he didn’t know how long Dieter had been with Piedmont, a subsidiary of US Airways. He said an internal investigation was under way.
(Source: Huffington Post)
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2 Responses
This simply confirms the stupidity of TSA. If the pilot was a ‘bad’ guy and wanted to down the plane, he could have done it anytime he was flying the plane. He’s carrying the gun for protection. Yes, he should have gone through the Flight Deck Officer Program but that program, too, in my opinion, is stupid. Let him simply get a CCW permit and be done with it (I’ll bet he has one).
How ridiculous. What are they afraid he’s going to do with the gun? Hijack the plane?! What compelling interest does the government have in disarming him, which could overcome his second amendment right to bear arms? Whatever the constitutionality of the TSA rules in general, they are clearly unconstitutional as applied to pilots.