<VV> Checking Tools (no Corvair)

[goofyroo@excite.com]

Recently I checked tools *and* a handgun to go investigate a salvage vehicle (not a Corvair), which I hoped to fix and drive home.

At the ticket counter, the airline required me to demonstrate the gun was not loaded before locking it in a hard-sided case.  Bullets could be packed with it, just not in the clip/chamber.

I put my tools in a hard-sided plastic box and zip-tied it shut.  (FYI, they X-ray everything now.)  I was allowed to watch the guy scan it, open it, and look over the tools for any hazardous items.  I suppose with all the chemicals our tools get exposed to, there was the possibility of a positive explosives trace, but they didn't say anything.

The gun and tools then went to the wrong city.  They had been incorrectly tagged, and I was not paying attention.  I had to buy tools the next morning at Wal-Mart, which I didn't need because the car turned out to be irreparable anyway.  I did get everything back at my home airport the day after I arrived.

The lesson: Inventory everything, keep your original-purchase receipts, take photos, whatever you'll need to document what you check, and expect to lose it.  Some items are not covered by the airlines' liability policies, so look at their "contract of carriage" and ask questions if you have any before you travel.

One more thing to consider is whether your destination airport has "positive claim," or requires a passenger to show his claim check when picking up baggage at the carousel.  Fewer airports have this because since 9/11 they have blanketed the premises with surveillance cameras.  However, those don't stop some opportunistic stranger from grabbing your toolbox off the belt when he thinks he can get away with it.

Michael Smith
Dallas

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