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

[Buakaw]

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.

Section 38 defines a "realistic imitation firearm" as "an imitation firearm which has an appearance that is so realistic as to make it indistinguishable, for all practical purposes, from a real firearm".

Possession alone would carry a severe penalty, but to take this out on a commercial airliner...on the anniversary of 9/11!

[scorecard]

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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.

part quote: "Secondly it is NOT HIS JOB to take actions to improve security."

I totally absolutely disagree.

I reserve the right to speak up and say something, reveal something where the safety of my family is concerned.

Plus I would hope that all intelligent adults would have the same attitude, and speak up.

[pietjepuk1234]

Not surprising . It is no problem to take a real gun on a thai flight . I observed a thai male and female behind the scanner for an 1/2 hour during waiting at Krabi airport .They were facing each other playing with their phones but they never observed the scanners monitor for not one single moment .

[webfact]

Probe begins to find carrier of BB gun on THAI flight



BANGKOK: -- Airports of Thailand (AOT) is now investigating a widespread share of a photograph showing a passenger displaying a BB handgun in his hand on board a flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok in bid to file charges against him.

The photo drew public outcry over the security measure of the airport authorities in Chiang Mai with question of its security system and how the automatic BB “Glock” gun managed to pass through its computer scanner in the carry-on baggage of the passenger.

The passenger using a name of “phimuknz” posted the photograph of the Glock fake handgun which he took on board Flight TG 111 leaving Chiang Mai and arriving Bangkok on Monday at 14.51pm.

“Phimuknz” posted on Pantip board Tuesday a photo of the gun in his hand along with a message that said, “When Airports of Thailand allows me to carry a gun on board a plane”. The photo and the message have gone viral.

The poster, believed to be an Air Force officer as he mentioned in his post on “Pantip” web board saying he was shocked when he opened up his baggage to get his mobile phone as the plane was arriving in Bangkok but found the toy gun instead.

He recalled that the BB gun was shown and played by his Air Force juniors while in Chiang Mai and was not aware why it was in his baggage.

He took photograph of the hand gun as evidence of lax security of the airport authorities, saying even a small bottle of perfume he had to discard of it before boarding the plane.

The Swiss-made Glock brand handgun is widely used in the Air Force and some security agencies.

As the post spread like wildfire, Chiang Mai international airport director Group Captain Lakchai Chaloemprat said investigation has been launched into the incident to find out if this fake gun was really taken onboard a flight from the airport.

He took media representatives to the airport to inspect the security system and also demonstrated the scanning of the computerised system when a BB Glock handgun was passed into the scanner system for check.

The system clearly showed the image of the fake gun.

“If any weapon or dangerous item is detected, authorities will ask the passenger to remove it from their luggage as carrying it on board is definitely prohibited,” he said.

He was still not confident if the poster did take the photograph on board the plane, but warned that if it was taken on board, the carrier would face high fine and imprisonment.

He vowed to pursue the case closely and bring the man for trial as it was a criminal offence to carry fake arms on board.

(Photo : http://pantip.com/topic/32557705)

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/probe-begins-find-carrier-bb-gun-thai-flight/


-- Thai PBS 2014-09-11

[SDM0712]

Terrorism overhyped in my opinion.

An interesting view, it depends if you at talking about numbers of aircraft involved or people.

The issue really is the amount of death that can be caused by a single act. If it's just the aircraft then we are talking hundreds of people, if it hits a building in a city centre we could be talking thousands of people.

Unfortunately aeroplanes have become both amazing forms of transport and potential weapons of mass destruction.

Can the risk really be "over hyped " when it only takes a single person to cause this amount of devastation and loss of life ?

SDM

[Strangebrew]

Well since I worked for TSA stateside I noticed the lax security here in Thailand Girl on xray BS ing with friend You could pass a tank thru x-ray and she would miss it. I have a Bullet on key chain forgot to leave at home Went security at Swampy threw key chain in plastic bin When on other side noticed keychain So walk over to guard on other side and handed it to him. He goes back to girl shows her What went thru . He let's me go on my way. She didn't get fired Think she got promotion. Amazing Thailand

[TVGerry]

It's obvious NOT faux 'Glock' pistol.

[waynethor]

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 couldn't agree more!

What an incredibly immature self-centered little piece of garbage. We can assume it was a plastic toy, so camouflaging it in his luggage wouldn't have been difficult and did nothing to show how smart he is or how lax airport security is.

If he really wants to prove something about the size of his balls or weaknesses in airport security, try it with a REAL gun and see how far he gets. He'd be kneeling on the ground, trembling as he pissed himself with loaded guns pointed at his pea-brained head when it is easily discovered.

[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.

part quote: "Secondly it is NOT HIS JOB to take actions to improve security."

I totally absolutely disagree.

I reserve the right to speak up and say something, reveal something where the safety of my family is concerned.

Plus I would hope that all intelligent adults would have the same attitude, and speak up.

First of all scorecard I am an intelligent adult. Secondly you must be reading a different article than I. This idiot did not speak up as you say. He endangered the lives of everybody on that airplane and other people in the terminal had security forces decided to draw weapons and engage him it any time during his passage through the airport

He is an idiot. Maybe we all should carry a fake weapo. On board and brandishing about while taking pictures. Maybe we all should all drive up to the perimeter fence and pretend to launch anti aircraft missiles at take ing off aircraft. Maybe we should all call in bomb threats to determine the effectiveness of response. As far as I am concerned making this guy out to be some kind of good guy is beyond foolish m

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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.


part quote: "Secondly it is NOT HIS JOB to take actions to improve security."

I totally absolutely disagree.

I reserve the right to speak up and say something, reveal something where the safety of my family is concerned.

Plus I would hope that all intelligent adults would have the same attitude, and speak up.



First of all scorecard I am an intelligent adult. Secondly you must be reading a different article than I. This idiot did not speak up as you say. He endangered the lives of everybody on that airplane and other people in the terminal had security forces decided to draw weapons and engage him it any time during his passage through the airport

He is an idiot. Maybe we all should carry a fake weapo. On board and brandishing about while taking pictures. Maybe we all should all drive up to the perimeter fence and pretend to launch anti aircraft missiles at take ing off aircraft. Maybe we should all call in bomb threats to determine the effectiveness of response. As far as I am concerned making this guy out to be some kind of good guy is beyond foolish m

I repeat, I disagree with you.

[chrisinth]

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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

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 would suggest that the main reason why ordinary citizens shouldn't be allowed to test airport security is the very real possibility of them getting shot if their test goes wrong. This is not over exaggerating in this world of anti terrorism sentiment.

We do all realize that we are still under martial law here? If unauthorized, the guy was a prick of the highest order doing this with little thought of how badly a prank like that could go wrong, real possibility of endangering himself and others through possible panic.

[geetee]

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.

I would not recommend trying it too many times as he may be issued a lead asprin for his efforts eventually.

[Nip]

Damn, once thay seized me a freshly bought tiny poket-knife I forgot in my bag!

Here is a thing .... For years I have carried a small pocket knife that I use as a scissors, bottle opener and cork screw while traveling. It is not detected because they are looking inside the bag not outside the bag where it is clipped for all to see.

[Loles]

This man made a trial, and the CM airport security was failed.

Who is the idiot?

This man or the boss of airport security ?

I guess the last.

[Sena Dave]

Did they say what it was made out of , if it was cardboard then not much or a risk I'd say

[DLock]

So, if a guy sitting near you on a plane pulled out this fake gun, you'd just sit there and do nothing...or worse applaud him for finding fault with security?

He was just lucky he was sitting near pussies like you guys or he would have been rushed, duct taped and stuffed in a toilet cubicle unconscious until the plane landed.

Edited September 11, 2014 by DLock

[SouthernMan3]

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.

"The idiot" as you call him, might have pointed a severe fault in safety on flights from Chiang Mai. If he really "smuggled" a replica onboard, the airport is to be blamed and not him.

Maybe it was plastic ?

Didn't see anything Re; this in the article ?

[abrahamzvi]

After flying up and down 3 weeks ago I can't say I'm amazed to hear this!

I completely disagree. I often fly the route CNX-BKK-CNX and I find the security checks absolutely adequate. If the "fake gun" was a toy made of plastics and wrapped or put in a box with other items, possibly it may not have been detected. However, it is difficult for me to believe this story!

[chrisinth]

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If this is a plastic replica, or a cheap air-soft gun (99% plastic) it would be very easy to smuggle it on-board. Simply place it in a large pocket or tuck it in your waist band before going through the metal detectors. Since there's no metal to detect, nothing will go off.

Not with some of the airsoft replicas you can get here, especially from Taiwan. These come with metal barrels (as in this case) and metal internals. The stamp on the pistol grip, K-22 is an airsoft model, usually comes with an extended orange plastic barrel to denote its a replica.

Two of the handguns (airsoft) I have can easily be converted to .22 weapons with only adjustments to the breach, barrel & magazine, this makes them grownup toys and illegal.

As for the x-ray machines, regardless they will show a signature of the shape of the weapon/toy. If he had the weapon/toy dismantled and was able to rebuild it for the photo, people would have seen him on a domestic flight.

[dom4biz]

If that image is accurate then and it is a "fake gun" i.e. 100% plastic mold with NO metal what so ever it would pass through a detector for metal or any other gun composite. The second issue is the outline of the gun itself proves that the person who carried it also took care in the way they had it placed in their carry on to not show the outline when it was being scanned as well. Plus a under-qualified screen-er watching the scanner.

The issue here is NOT that a weapon got through. Its the threat and effort put forth by a serious idiot to create this mass perception... I'm sure they will get that person and hope he enjoys true Thai legal hospitality because of it.

just saying:)

[allan michaud]

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i saw then get a bunch of monks at don muang the other day trying to smuggle through a deadly box cutter

Errm! Do you remember a minor event called 9-11? That was perpetrated by a bunch of religious nutjobs with box cutters.

As far as this incident is concerned I feel it is the airport security that should be pilloried, not the person who showed how useless they were.

[Nemesis7]

Seriously very stupid of him to pull such an idiotic act.

1. This could trigger serious panic on board.

2. He could be labeled as terrorist once found prior the departure ( oh if he was a Muslim person, he would make a world headline by now or a national headline if he was a farang)

3. If spotted by Air Marshal on board he could have been in serious trouble or who knows might have even been shot.

4. I have no clue why he was carrying it on board and had to display but sure if agencies can trace him ( which I'm sure by now being done ) he is in deep shit.

5. Another example if how so much goodies and popularity from social media......can literally screw your life.

[Sena Dave]

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Seriously very stupid of him to pull such an idiotic act.
1. This could trigger serious panic on board.
2. He could be labeled as terrorist once found prior the departure ( oh if he was a Muslim person, he would make a world headline by now or a national headline if he was a farang)
3. If spotted by Air Marshal on board he could have been in serious trouble or who knows might have even been shot.
4. I have no clue why he was carrying it on board and had to display but sure if agencies can trace him ( which I'm sure by now being done ) he is in deep shit.
5. Another example if how so much goodies and popularity from social media......can literally screw your life.

Yeah , that would be lovely wouldn't it , sitting there reading you book an some fella next to you gets gun out and takes a picture of it

[Globeman]

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

Really? That was his motive? Perhaps so... or it was to expose holes in Thailand's incredibly lax airport security system... they are already x-raying your carry-on, but this begs the question whether anyone is looking at the screen... I should think that the outline of a handgun would kind of jump out at them.

And what crime has the guy committed exactly? Tarnishing the image of Thailand?

You should be thanking the guy, not calling him names... but sorry if it inconveniences you, fella.

[thairay]

i left Portugal once ,just after the twin tower attack..they had full baggage screening for everyone and everything.once you passed the screening you had to carry your tagged "clear" bag to the check in counter..only problem i saw was you had to leave the building and walk through the car park which was a shambles with people waiting to be checked....could have put anything in the bag and boarded!!! going business class to amsterdam from london i was forced to hand in my 1 inch key-ring pen knife.it was sealed in a yellow and black bag and carried in safety by the flight crew to be handed back after arrival..they then sat me down and gave me fresh orange juice in a GLASS...fed me and again armed me, with a steel knife and fork. i can only say if anyone was trying ,they could do almost anything ,at will ,with such poor security..,Be ready ,if you actually see a gun or knife on a flight,,jump on the culprit ,all of you,as if not you may be another statistic...

[Jim walker]

Shows the world the poor standard of security at Thai airports come on global terrorists its easy to get a Thai aircraft under your control just take your guns on board with your hand luggage.

He should be banned from flying with any airline ever again once he gets out of prison for this offence.

[garrya]

One day I walked through the metal detector with a bunch of keys and some coins in my pocket. No one had noticed it. Of course it happened in Thailand.

[Sena Dave]

one thing to remember when passing through airport security never ,ever conceal a Gun sewn into your belt

[SDM0712]

There is only one fact that is relevant.

He was able to bring what appeared to be a gun onto a plane. Fact.

The rest is irrelevant.

SDM

[Sena Dave]

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There is only one fact that is relevant.

He was able to bring what appeared to be a gun onto a plane. Fact.

The rest is irrelevant.

SDM

What if it was made of paper mache and he had it stuffed down his nuts when he went through security ?