Homeland securety

[Len Petterson]

Heard second hand. This was brought up at a club meeting as a warning to us all.
A Canadian aircraft lands in USA to clear customs.
It is a Stinson, like the my Taylorcraft it has many original instruments.
The customs boys comes out with a Geigercounter!
The owner was charge with trying to import radioacive material, hade aircraft imponded and was arested.
The radioactive material was the luminesent paint in the instruments!
Len

[mikerice]

Re: Homeland security

I had the misfortune of driving across the bridge while I was in Brownsville with some BC-12D instruments in the back of the truck. I only went to Mexico to have dinner and buy some Patron Tequila......

As I returned to the US, the Border Patrol asked if I had any medical tests while in Mexico. I said no, he said "Are you sure?" I said no again and he sent be in the inspection lane.

They brought out a Geiger counter, and sure enough, it went off. I asked them if they were looking for radioactivity, and they said yes, so I pointed them to the box of instruments and that was the problem. They chewed my butt for taking the Taylorcraft parts into Mexico (I had a A-65 in the back too...) and it took an hour to get out of there. I am sure I am in the Homeland Security system now!

The detectors are on the road to the toll booth and sound the alarm before you even get into the U.S. They are so sensitive they pick up the tritium paint on the flight instruments. This has happened to others driving the Alcan from Alaska too.

So the moral of the story is watch what you take across the border, and pay the tax on the Patron Tequila!