Passenger gets away with fake gun on Chiang Mai-Bangkok flight

[shaurene]

fake gun

What exactly is a fake gun?

I know BB guns that are exact replicas of authentic weapons. But since BB guns are by their very nature, capable of firing ammunition, what defines a fake gun. In some countries BB guns or Airsoft weapons have an orange tip on the barrel. The article doesn't indicate what kind of weapon and no doubt there will be a full inquiry into how the idiot managed to smuggle it on board.

I think he wanted to high lite the lax security good on him, well done.

[epicstuff]

dick heads like this make air travel more invasive and difficult for all ..I hope he gets prison time as it was obviously pre-meditated to show he could post a selfie doing so ...A1 Pratt

Not sure I agree with you..

Yhe air line / airport security is the party that should be called into question not the guy with the fake gun .. I dont see many posts pointing the finger at them.

Why should't ordinary citizens not be allowed to test the security promises made by certain authorities. Should we just believe everything that we are told and trust the state or do we all have a responsibility to see if there are any misinformation or lapses in their security promises. The guy obviously wasn't a terrorist . and he published the photo so the world could see there was a flaw in security .. he had balls if you ask me . and it has highlighted a very serious fact. maybe he might have done something good to prevent the next guy with a real gun coming aboard a plane..

[laurenrebecca]

Even if there was very little metal in the gun, it would be picked up by the WTMD (metal detector). If he put it in his bag, they show up clear as day on the xray machines, no matter what brand it is.

The only way that he could have gotten away with it is if it was in many pieces AND the spring in the gun, as well as magazine, were plastic.

Before I get blasted by everybody of where my proof of this is, I worked for the boys in blue at the airport in the USA for some years before coming here. Even plastic childrens toy guns show up clear as day on the xray if you are screening bags properly. I have seen many fake and real guns come through the xray machines (L3, rapiscan, CTX, you name it), and have seen more than a few kids (and 1 STUPID police officer) come through my metal detector with a gun concealed on their person.

If the attendants on the equipment were not doing their job, or were otherwise distracted, then it could be very easy to miss.....but the alarm on the metal detector cannot be overlooked....everybody in the screening area hears it!!

[captspectre]

fake gun

What exactly is a fake gun?

I know BB guns that are exact replicas of authentic weapons. But since BB guns are by their very nature, capable of firing ammunition, what defines a fake gun. In some countries BB guns or Airsoft weapons have an orange tip on the barrel. The article doesn't indicate what kind of weapon and no doubt there will be a full inquiry into how the idiot managed to smuggle it on board.

who's the idiot? the one flying with it or the ones at the security check points? aren't they the ones that are supposed to prevent idiots from taking weapons on the airplane in the first place? put the blame where it belongs!

[Marknreston]

To those lauding this fools act.... Think about it. He could have caused a serious and lethal reaction had security people with real guns confronted him and he used the same poor judgement that caused him to attempt this in the first place. Secondly it is NOT HIS JOB to take actions to improve security. There are procedures in place both here and in other countries where security faces regular inspections and unannounced planted weapons. Lastly if I had seen this guy take this weapon out of his bag on the flight , I and probably 20 others would have been all over him and it would not have been pretty. This guy should be sitting in prison.

[shaurene]

Now we will all have to put up with more intrusive inspections until this dies down. Thanks so much to this dolt.

Well "charliebru" I think you are the dolt, you prefer to fly with less security, if you where on a flight and few guys jumped up with one of these each and shouted Jehad we take over the plain, would you not condemn the security at the airport because it saved you a little bother, you and your type who complain about your intrusive inspections are the true Idiots.

[aboctok]

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dick heads like this make air travel more invasive and difficult for all ..I hope he gets prison time as it was obviously pre-meditated to show he could post a selfie doing so ...A1 Pratt

Whats wrong with you people like this do us a service and now CM security will be upgraded what if a muzzie terrorist got a real gun onboard

WELL DONE TO THE PERSON THAT DONE this you should get a medal not time.

Sure, next you you take a flight do the same thing so you can be a hero and get a medal..... Maybe even a Darwin award. And tonight maybe someone will break into your house and assult your family to show you your lack of security, and he will be a hero also, and the break in will be your fault. right??? right???

Right! And this guy who broke into the plane and assaulted all the passengers (okay, maybe not all of them), he should be in jail. Idiot-clown-&lt;deleted&gt;-fool. Hey, let's get really angry! Let's kill him!

[SDM0712]

dick heads like this make air travel more invasive and difficult for all ..I hope he gets prison time as it was obviously pre-meditated to show he could post a selfie doing so ...A1 Pratt

I see your point and agree but this person also show how crappy the security really is Iso I have to say this incident maybe make the airport security wake up and do there damn job. How the heck can anyone get on a plan with a gun in his bag?

He's not a "dick head" nor a "clown", he is someone who has done all air travellers in this country a massive favour. The "dick heads"and the "clowns" are the idiots in charge of airport security. They should wake up or one day it will be a real lunatic with a real gun resulting in a crashed plane with all dead on board. Anything that forces the so called airport security services to tighten their obviously very slack act gets my vote.

SDM

[shaurene]

dick heads like this make air travel more invasive and difficult for all ..I hope he gets prison time as it was obviously pre-meditated to show he could post a selfie doing so ...A1 Pratt

Not sure I agree with you..

Yhe air line / airport security is the party that should be called into question not the guy with the fake gun .. I dont see many posts pointing the finger at them.

Why should't ordinary citizens not be allowed to test the security promises made by certain authorities. Should we just believe everything that we are told and trust the state or do we all have a responsibility to see if there are any misinformation or lapses in their security promises. The guy obviously wasn't a terrorist . and he published the photo so the world could see there was a flaw in security .. he had balls if you ask me . and it has highlighted a very serious fact. maybe he might have done something good to prevent the next guy with a real gun coming aboard a plane..

I totally agree with you TerryP the idiots condemning this guy because it might take a bit longer to get through security, and I would bet if a high jack happened on a flight these idiots would be shaking in their seats and crying.

[Geordie59]

How do we know it is fake from the picture?

Find him and lock him up. Clowns like this cause so many of us massive inconvenience by trying to be smart &lt;deleted&gt;.

[geetee]

I could never understand why anyone would want let alone carry a replica firearm. Can easily get you into a position that will obviously not help extricate one little bit...unless you are an exceptionally good at throwing said replica.

[Tanlic]

How do you know this isn't a wind up from some looney?

More lkely he thinks he's a smart a$$ that trying to do the world a favour.

It would take less than 5 minutes to make up a photo like that on photoshop so we can't even assume it's real.

I don't know about Changmai but if you even joke to security about having a weapon or a bomb they will detain you immediately.

The point being if they trace this guy he will end up in jail if he did smuggle a gun, fake or not, on board ad if he didn't he'll still go to jail.

Not real smart is he?

[DDbkh]

Some time ago I had to have knee replacement surgery. After the first knee operation I had to go to Singapore, so I flew from Don Muang using a well known regional airline. I went through security clutching my shiny knew certificate confirming that I had a metal knee - but nothing happened - the metal detector gave no response. When I went through security in Singapore on the return flight, all hell let loose and I had to bare my knee to show the scar.

The same happened (or didn't happen) after my second knee operation six months later - even with twice the amount of titanium in me!

Oh and the hot air hand dryer in the men's washroom still doesn't work either

[Carrerakiss]

I personally put no faith in the walk through metal scanners, simply because I can walk through one without setting it off and a few minutes later walk through another one and it lights up like a beacon. The tolerances are very wide.

The x ray machines are dependent on humans and therefore by definition, subject to human error.

[eastcanje]

well, if it's a fake gun, where is the problem. It just shows that it works, there's no problem when you don't bring a real gun.

have this daredevil do the same thing with a real gun in metal with bullets and then I'll worry. So far it seems that the security doesn't forbid plastic toys on board... it's working.

Perhaps this is true at CM airport, but in 1998 or 1999, attempting to board a British Airways flight from New York to London, my young son was told that he couldn't bring his Nerf gun (red and yellow, and obviously plastic) aboard. However, BA staff took possession of the toy, and returned it in London. Note, this was even before the 9/11 outrage!

[SDM0712]

Now we will all have to put up with more intrusive inspections until this dies down. Thanks so much to this dolt.

Perhaps they should be more intrusive, they are clearly in adequate. We are not talking a bottle of aftershave.

I really can't understand why some people here are so against this guy. Let's forget the word fake, that was only known later and is irrelevant. If he held it against a pilots head and said divert this plane the pilot won't know and if it was a real gun or not. Firing a weapon in a pressurised cabin would result in the plane losing control anyway.

Let's say it again, he carried what appeared to the naked eye to be a real gun onto an aeroplane, through security. This should be impossible, there should be an investigation of how it happened although anyone who flies a lot, even not a lot already knows how. Incompetence & apathy all on the part of the security. And this is all in the shadow of MH370, who knows what happened there. Maybe someone put a fake gun to the pilots head and ordered him to fly until the plane ran out of fuel.

This guy should get a medal I agree, well done.

SDM

[geetee]

well, if it's a fake gun, where is the problem. It just shows that it works, there's no problem when you don't bring a real gun.

have this daredevil do the same thing with a real gun in metal with bullets and then I'll worry. So far it seems that the security doesn't forbid plastic toys on board... it's working.

Reg, guns do not need to be metallic.

[Pii Kate]

I use a C-PAP machine at night to breath. I have to bring it as carry on luggage. At home the security team put on gloves and take it away for anywhere between 15-30 minutes to clear it for flight. I was stunned when Chiang Mai security put it on a conveyor belt for x-ray and cleared it with a green "security check" tape. The same thing happened in Malaya. This was two months ago. I feel like everyone is convinced the recent travesty was a one time event. I dislike showing up hours before an international flight and waiting clear a long security queue and then waiting for the airline staff to show up or work but I love being alive more so the inconvenience is minor.

To add to the fake gun, folks in Thailand and Malaya can carry on liquids which I find stunning. Maybe the security doesn't know that gasoline and other flammables are liquid. Any wonder the gun got through?

[jackspade]

"We must find out if this fake gun was really taken onboard a flight from our airport... *cough cough* Because the photo could have been Photoshopped! Yes! *cough cough*! We must determine if the photo is real and not Photoshopped. This process will take up to three weeks. By that time hopefully you will have all forgotten about this..." – Lakchai Chaloeiprat

[Maipenrai007]

I had been out shooting in Australia and had left 3 .222 rounds in my jacket pocket(by mistake, I didn't realise until I got off he plane in Bangkok.

Travelled all the way from Sydney to Bangkok wearing this jacket, felt pretty bad about it but never got pulled up.

This was in 2008.

[Card]

dick heads like this make air travel more invasive and difficult for all ..I hope he gets prison time as it was obviously pre-meditated to show he could post a selfie doing so ...A1 Pratt

What a silly comment.

It's people like this that expose security lapses that allow real guns through. I blame insufficient security, not the guy who manages to evade it. I applaud him and hope he keeps on trying it on.

[geetee]

If his intent was in fact to expose failure of the current system then I expect there is certainly a better approach than posting on Faceache or twittle etc.

[thrilled]

Some people will do anything to get in the news.He is either braver or more stupid than me.Some people you can't figure out

What is behind the motive.

[epicstuff]

How do we know it is fake from the picture?

Find him and lock him up. Clowns like this cause so many of us massive inconvenience by trying to be smart <deleted>.

the people who are the cause of all the problems are :

1.people who get paid to do a security job but can't be bothered,

2.the people who actually hi jack or blow up planes.

3 the idiots who create foreign policies invade countries and cause international resentment making people want to blow up planes as a statement in the fist place.

.

people with toy guns come fairly low on the list of idiots I feel...

[Firelily]

I wish 1, security searches weren't working so hard on finding water bottles and suntan lotion, but focusing on real threats 2, instead of pretty giggling air hostesses there were male hosts on the planes capable of knocking the living daylights out of anyone who pulls a prank like this in the air.

[kannot]

airport security is usually &lt;deleted&gt;, any terrorist could get a job at the airport an do the damage that way, many npw settled inot a country long time just waiting for the order.

Stupidly last time I flew to Thailand from the Uk I had a roll of electrical wire in my hand luggage. I went through UK security where they said it was OK to take it on , got to Dubai and had it confiscated!! I mean WHAT are the rules when one country allows this the next doesnt, arent there any standard rules? Obviously not

Terrorism overhyped in my opinion.

[epicstuff]

If his intent was in fact to expose failure of the current system then I expect there is certainly a better approach than posting on Faceache or twittle etc.

it seemed to do the job, we all know about it now .. if he reported it to authorities do you think anyone would have found out about this breach?

[gawaterman]

While on a tour of Vietnam a couple of years ago,a South African guy in our group showed us his stun gun which he had obviously bought with him on the plane from home, and we also did a couple of internal flights in Vietnam and it wasn't detected.Amazed me.

[kimamey]

well, if it's a fake gun, where is the problem. It just shows that it works, there's no problem when you don't bring a real gun.

have this daredevil do the same thing with a real gun in metal with bullets and then I'll worry. So far it seems that the security doesn't forbid plastic toys on board... it's working.

I think the problem is how can you tell it's a fake, I can't? Maybe it's easy for someone with a knowledge of guns but it could still be used to create panic and a distraction if he were working with others.

[umbanda]

I am not sure, but may be not laws about carrying a plastic TOY in an airplane, even if looks like a real gun, and if founded this guy may get a hard advice, lose the toy, and nothing more.

We do not know why he did that, but, if his intention was to show that security doesn't do the job properly, he did good. Anyway, I also believe that real terrorist organizations will find the way to get inside a plane, a building, and a country, regarding any security.