"Our inspector was following routine procedure for securing the aircraft that were on the tarmac," a Chicago based TSA official told ABCNews.com.

Perhaps it is time to update the routine procedures to include avoiding breaking the plane to test it.

The Chicago based TSA official might as well have said:

"Our inspector was also following routine procedure for creating unnecessary problems, as consistent with the TSA's mission."

Because the terrorist intent on blowing up a plane will be turned away by "No Step" stenciled on the plane. Lock the damn doors American.

Maybe American should 'fine' the TSA now.

First rule of inspecting: understand what you are inspecting, so that you don't break it. I mean, I know that's a really advanced concept to expect these TSA simpletons to understand, but still.

now the TSA is blaming the airline for the security lapse:

[abcnews.go.com]

Next time the TSA officer will be using a sledge hammer to test whether he can break into airplanes.

Yeah, grabbing on to an antenna or pitot tubes protruding from an aircraft would be bad. However, I'm sure this TSA employee simply forgot his professional protocols, which I'm sure were delivered to him expertly, over numerous months of study and training...or, more likely, the girl who normally does this task broke a nail.

Wow, the TSA procedure is to break planes! Looks like they are batting 1000 here!

Wow, American has an amazing security measure here that no one has though of! A sign! Maybe that's why we have so many people illegally crossing the border from Mexico, we need more "Do not cross into the United States here." signs down there!

What the article doesn't say is that the 'Super secret rules' allow them to snap any extra pieces off in the course of making sure the door is locked.

Well, you could certainly argue that by making air travel so miserable that it eventually goes away, the TSA is succeeding in its mission to eliminate airplane related terrorist attacks.

The issue here is NOT the fact that American has a sign and piss poor security, it's that the people in charge of security had to endanger thousands of lives (by breaking planes) just to test it.
I predict the next test by TSA is to see if the pilots are vulnerable to bullets. Or to see if the plane is vulnerable to a rocket.

Of course, criticisms of TSA just mean we are supporting terrorists.

what a fucking moron. i understand that a "terrorist" would ignore the sign, but breaking expensive equipment meant to keep passengers safe from oh, i dunno, FALLING OUT OF THE SKY, was just idiotic.

not only are the airplanes not secure, they're now not flyable.

@dopplerd: no, but the terrorist will probably want to fly that plane away and therefore still won't step on and break the freaking equipment needed to do so.

I don't expect someone not familiar with airplane maintenance to understand what a pitot tube is. However, if you see some stuff sticking out of each plane, it doesn't mean that it was put there to help some idiot trying to look inside the airplane's windows.

These tubes are towards the airplane's nose. That tells me that he was trying to lift himself to look through the cockpit's windshield for whatever reason.

Here's a clue, Magoo, if the door is locked (which is all you're required to check per TSA regulations), go to the next plane, Gomer!

@dopplerd:

I think the real problem is that "No Step" in only written in English. If the terrorist doesn't read English then the warning is useless.

Jebus. It's not that the "Do not step" sign is meant by AA to deter terrorists. But it should have been a warning to the inspector to use other means of getting up there do his inspecting.

I'm glad that the TSA is insuring the doors are locked overnight, so that the next day, when the plane is loaded with thousands of pounds of uninspected commerical cargo, the plane will be totally safe.

/sarcasm off

The TSA really needs some accountability. It seems as though they answer to no one but themselvesm which is always a recipe for disaster.

Two seperate issues because it is very clear that many of our esteemed commentors can't overcome their natural psychological inclinations. (IE, you're stupid)

AA screwed up because they didn't properly secure their planes.

No one, including AA, is claiming that the signs that said not to screw with the avionics equipment was a security device. The signs are there for airline personell, so they don't accidentally screw everything up. This would include TSA.

TSA, in the course of their security checks should take care not to screw up the plane. Sure, a terrorists might not heed a warning not to mess with sensitive equipment... That doesn't excuse a TSA agent who did, and screwed up nine flights.

So, in sum:

@TornadoRex: No one said the signs were a security measure. They are their so people working on/inspecting the plane don't screw it up and kill people.

@Botticelli711: The security lapse (not locking the plane properly) is AA's fault. Screwing up the planes is not.

@dopplerd: See above for TornadoRex. You two should hang out.

This is akin to some parking lot security guard (about the same skill set) trying to break into cars parked in the lot to ensure the vehicles are secured and then saying "not our fault" when they break some windows doing so.

Why isn't this simple vandalism? Oh wait, it happened in an airport? That's a tazerin' and a felony.

@chiieddy: AMEN!!!!!

@dopplerd: The doors on most commericial airplanes don't have locks. There are methods of securing the airplanes while they are parked overnight however that I'm sure American Followed.

@Farquar: You hurt my head

@Johnyq1982: I'm sorry. I was swinging pretty wide there, and might have accidentally got you.

Tylenol.. It'll help.

Read this the other day, thought it was f'ing hilarious. You can get into just about any plane, you just have to know where the location of the access hatches.

@dopplerd: The equipment was mounted outside the aircraft, and had nothing to do with testing the doors. The TSA used it as a ladder as opposed to getting an actual ladder, because he was lazy or stupid, or both, in accordance with TSA's policy.

This is hilarious to me, though. Grounding planes because of broken equipment? I wonder if TSA's "get out of jail free card" covers that? Will AA be reimbursed, and is TSA going to cover the costs for rerouting and compensating all those passengers?

Way to screw up and already completely screwed up system, TSA! ...Is there any kind of Golden Turd we can award to Gov't agencies??

I have to add here, too, that the terrorists would probably NOT use the equipment as a ladder, SHOULD they decide to steal a plane, simply because then it WOULDN'T WORK.

Wow. This situation is an epic fail of monumental proportions, and I almost. Can't. Look. Away.

Next year, if my travel plans work out the way I think they're going to, I will only fly once, round-trip. I suspect my stress levels will lower accordingly.

Jesus, what is this, "Laurel and Hardy Join the TSA"?

Breaking the planes is a "routine procedure" for checking the doors? No wonder there's so many delays. Does their "routine procedure" for fuelling involve roman candles and sparklers?

Heard about this from the usual chatter over air-to-air frequencies this morning. Quite a few people laughing about it. Apparently, the TSA guy used the pitot tubes as a ladder to get up to either the door or cockpit windows, or something of the sort, and bent them pretty badly.

You'd think that something that's covered with a big red leather strap, specifically to protect it, would be obvious enough that it's not a step, but then again, this IS the TSA.

If someone did that to my bird, they'd be paying to fix it.

And I'd love to see the looks on passengers' faces when they're told "oh, yeah, flight's XXed, because the security staff decided to wreck the airplane's pitot tubes in the name of security". Ugh.

The big issue here is that the TSA broke something then starts saying how it isn't their fault because AA was wrong too. Mind you they are using the same excuse on the 2 planes that they said had nothing wrong with them.

It just goes to show the power we have given these people. The TSA really needs to be fixed.

He managed to damage 9 planes? How is that possible. What an idiot. Fire him and while they are at it they should all fire themselves. TSA a.k.a. The Suckiest Agency

I don't see any problem with this. He broke some avionics equipment? It sucks, but would a thief give a shit about avionics equipment?

@Quilt:

I will refer you to: this starred commentor or no..

TSA is just another glowing example of government incompetence.

Why should we pay for them to keep screwing up?

Bottom line is that TSA agents should be trained to test security near and on the airplanes without damaging anything. I can't speak for passanger airlines, but when the TSA and our security guards test our airplanes, they just walk up to the door of the plane, you don't need to do anything other than that. Actually we are just supposed to have the stairs pulled away from the airplane, the doors can be open but the only way to get into the airplanes are with the stairs, which weigh several tons.

The TSA agent was a f***ing idiot if he tried to pull himself up with a pilot tube. The only reason I can see him trying to do that is if the door was open, because you can't open the doors from the outside.

Anyone who wants to break into a plane needs only a screwdriver. Yup, you take a few screws out and remove any number of fairings (panels) and you're in the plane. Then you're free to do your terroristic activities and re-install the fairing and nobody is the wiser.

BTW, many fairings have what are called Zeus fasteners which means you can remove the whole panel in about a minute (if you've done it a few times) and install it in about two.

@TornadoRex: The sign is not a security measure, it's a "Don't break this" measure and intended to be for people who work around the plane so they don't step on something fragile and break it. There's a lot of various parts on the outside of the plane that a person may be tempted to use as a handle or ladder rung, but they're not designed to support your weight.

There's nothing wrong with checking for locked doors and latches on a plane by the TSA, and yes, american should have the doors and such properly locked. However, that is no excuse for the TSA people to be stepping on the plane in such a way that it damages it. You can check the doors by using something like, oh, I don't know... a ladder? There's NO reason the TSA person should be stepping on something on a plane that says "DO NOT STEP"

Army, 1968: "We had to destroy the village to save it."
TSA, 2008: "We had to damage the airplane to protect it from Al Qaeda."

There are rumors floating about on the interwebs that American Eagle launched this accusation vs. TSA after they got caught with some potentially very expensive violations.

I smell... lawsuit!

If someone outside of the TSA damaged 9 airplanes, wouldn't they be liable for both criminal and civil lawsuits?

This guy (and perhaps members of his chain of command) need to be prosecuted.

we can only hope this is an agency that gets put over someone's knee during the next administration. an overhaul might be scary, though. and there'd be all of those inept employees running around looking for other jobs...

i almost wonder if it's better to keep them where they are @_@...

@WiglyWorm: Isn't that how everything connected to the Bush administration functions? They are all above the law and only answer to themselves.

I just noticed in the picture that they are the smaller airplanes, I can't compare those to MD11's. But this guy needs to be shitcanned. Ignorance isn't an excuse.

TSA is non-union and at-will. This means little, if any, training in airframes or safety.

But, hey they work cheaper than union and dare not complain. Entitleds wet dream.

@lowcajones: an overhaul might be scary, though. and there'd be all of those inept employees running around looking for other jobs...

Silly rabbit, don't you know that once your hired by the government your in till you want to go? Now you may get reassigned to Alaska but "fired" and "layoffs" isn't in any government bureaucracy vocabulary.

The "No Step" signs are mandated by FAA regs. The FAA has been around longer than the TSA, and actually knows a thing or two about aircraft (unlike the TSA, which knows nothing about real security and even less about aircraft.)

The TSA should be held liable for the damage done to these aircraft and the cost of getting them inspected after the damage is repaired as well. They SHOULD take it out of the moron's hide who actually climbed up the aircraft, but we read all the time how TSA employees aren't actually responsible for knowing how to do their job, so that's not likely to happen.

Photo of pitot tubes here:

[farm3.static.flickr.com]