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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Tripod stolen from luggage
Phil Hawkins, Photographer
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Fresno | ca | usa | Posted: 7:08 PM on 05.22.09 |
->> Went from Fresno to Raleigh, NC recently, and packed a small carbon fiber tripod in my checked luggage. Something I've done many times before.
Stolen en route.
Problem is that I flew two airlines on the outbound leg; US Airways Fresno-to-Phoenix, and Continental Phoenix-to-Houston, and Houston-to-Raleigh. two hour layover in Phoenix. So, filing a claim would be a useless procedure as each airline would accuse the other, I'm sure.
Just a warning; US Air and Continental; Lock your luggage. (Which I didn't do). |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 7:34 PM on 05.22.09 |
->> You really cannot lock your checked bags.
I've used the so-called approved TSA locks ... and they have been cut off each time I have used them. |
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Thomas B. Shea, Photographer
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Pearland/Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 7:37 PM on 05.22.09 |
->> Yes I thought it was illegal to lock your bags in case security wants to look inside them..
Thomas |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 7:40 PM on 05.22.09 |
->> http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1052.shtm
"Checked Baggage is luggage you check in at the ticket counter or at the curbside. It will not be accessible during your flight. Please refrain from locking your checked baggage or use one of our accepted and recognized locks. If your baggage alarms and our Security Officers cannot gain access to your checked bag, unrecognized lock may be broken."
http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/baggage/check.aspx
"All checked baggage is screened by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Refrain from locking your checked baggage or use a TSA Accepted & Recognized Lock. TSA is mandated by Federal law to screen 100% of checked baggage. If your baggage alarms and TSA cannot gain access to your checked bag, unrecognized locks may be broken. TSA will not reimburse passengers for unrecognized locks broken as a result of the security screening process. For more information about the TSA, visit www.tsa.gov." |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 7:42 PM on 05.22.09 |
| ->> I have personally seen TSA screeners use bolt cutters on bags at several different airports before they toss them onto the conveyor belt to the x-ray machine. |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 7:43 PM on 05.22.09 |
| ->> Now awaiting for "Fish's" opus on the matter... |
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David G. McIntyre, Photographer
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Beijing | . | CHINA | Posted: 9:04 PM on 05.22.09 |
| ->> There will soon be 'FAL' Fish approved locks. |
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Ed Wolfstein, Photographer, Assistant
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Burlington | VT | USA | Posted: 9:11 PM on 05.22.09 |
| ->> I miss Mongo... |
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PJ Heller, Photographer
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Santa Barbara | CA | USA | Posted: 9:31 PM on 05.22.09 |
| ->> Insurance! |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 9:39 PM on 05.22.09 |
->> Mongo Johnson!
May he rest in piece. |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 9:45 PM on 05.22.09 |
->> Insurance
It is very difficult to insure a $100 tripod. Most deductables are more than $100.
I'm not surprised by anything these days. I had a doormat stolen from in front of my studio door...which is located on an upper floor of a locked building with security cameras.
It was a nice doormat. I miss it. It was not insured. |
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Phil Hawkins, Photographer
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Fresno | ca | usa | Posted: 10:11 PM on 05.22.09 |
| ->> Wow, I too had a doormat stolen. It said "Go away" on it. Guess it didn't work. |
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PJ Heller, Photographer
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Santa Barbara | CA | USA | Posted: 12:55 AM on 05.23.09 |
->> ->> Wow, I too had a doormat stolen. It said "Go away" on it. Guess it didn't work.
I had a pair of well-worn hiking boots stolen from outside my door when I lived in Colorado. They left the doormat. |
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Kevin M. Cox, Photographer, Assistant
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Galveston & Houston | TX | US | Posted: 12:56 AM on 05.23.09 |
| ->> This thread brought back a bad memory. I also had a doormat stolen from the last apartment I lived in. Really pissed me off. Who steals a doormat? Honestly... |
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Dianna Russell, Photographer
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Springfield | MO | USA | Posted: 3:12 AM on 05.23.09 |
->> I bought some of those bright colored zip ties. None of the luggage was checked. I think I only had one bag checked on the return flight and they replaced it with another zip tie.
No stolen doormats here. |
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Sherwin Eng, Photographer
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Kent | WA | USA | Posted: 3:47 AM on 05.23.09 |
->> Phil
Do file a claim. Even though you flew 2 different airlines, the one that gets you to your destination,HAS to accept your claim. Your claim is tied to the bag check tag, as long as you present it to the baggage agent when you file the claim, it is legitimate lost. You will be given a lost baggage form to fill out, do fill it out and stand your ground. It will be a long process, but you had something stolen and you are entitled to compensation
Good luck |
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G.J. McCarthy, Photographer
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Dallas | TX | Lower 48 | Posted: 9:09 AM on 05.23.09 |
->> "Who steals a doormat?"
A thief?? I mean, that's just a guess.
- g - |
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Steve Ueckert, Photographer
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Houston | TX | | Posted: 9:19 AM on 05.23.09 |
->> Doormats notwithstanding, there is a method for locking your luggage for which the TSA insists on.
If you carry a firearm in your checked bag, it must be confirmed by a visual check by the TSA, and then the bag must be locked, securely.
Consider investing in a starter pistol as used at a track meet, the sort that will only fire blanks. The TSA considers such as a firearm and will insist that if it is carried, the bag it is in must be securely locked.
Furthermore, you are not supposed to have any external indication that a firearm is in the bag (no Smith & Wesson logo stickers!)
This will hold you up when you are checking-in your luggage, but it is a method with which you can securely lock your luggage.
Of course, it could mark your luggage as valuable and make it a target for thieves who would steal the whole bag. Such a thief was nabbed in Houston, a man who was a baggage handler, and he had stolen multiple dozens of bags. |
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Steve Ueckert, Photographer
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Adam Vogler, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Kansas City | Mo. | USA | Posted: 4:40 PM on 05.23.09 |
| ->> Never had anyone steal anything from my lugage nor have I ever fallen victum to door mat theft but someon did steal the ash tray out of my Jeep. |
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Joe Morahan, Photographer
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Denver | Co | USA | Posted: 6:40 PM on 05.23.09 |
->> I have a few extra doormats for sale that say..."Go Away."
They are not new, but they are cheap ;) |
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Manuello Paganelli, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | USA | Posted: 2:17 AM on 05.24.09 |
->> When I travel, besides my cameras, my carbon fiber tripod always comes with me too. I carry a photo bag pack and at the top where you pick it up by the handle I wrap two strips of Velcro and then I make sure my tripod is securely attach.
I lost an expensive tripod once in the early 90's while traveling on an overnight train in Europe. Then I would carry the tripod on my hands and separately from my camera bag pack. Next day I arrived at my destination and half sleep I walked out of the station and when I made it to my hotel then I realized that my tripod was probably on its way to another country. It was a hard lesson learned.
IF you eventually do it my way, be careful that your tripod is not too big especially if you walk in the narrow aisle of a plane for as your tripod sway from one side to the next you may hit a few folks as you aim for your seat.
BTW Phil "Problem is that I flew two airlines on the outbound leg; US Airways Fresno-to-Phoenix, and Continental ... So, filing a claim would be a useless procedure as each airline would accuse the other, I'm sure."
I dont know what tripod you owned but CF tripod are usually $$$ and then the head can be quite pricey too.
YOu should have file a claim with both the airlines. I have done that in the past and a check eventually arrives. YOu may get two checks. IS not your fault if they loose any of your gear and is not your responsibility to find out where the root of the problem started. Next time dont be so sure and act fast. IN fact you still may have a window open so call them and see what happens. All depends how long "recently" was. Good luck.
More 2 Come |
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Michael Troutman, Photographer
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Carmel | CA | USA | Posted: 3:09 AM on 05.24.09 |
| ->> Where is Frischling? |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 3:28 AM on 05.25.09 |
| ->> Finishing up a very long day shooting, now sitting in Terminal 1 at SFO writing a reply... |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 3:31 AM on 05.25.09 |
->> Looooonnnngggg day, with lots of miles behind me and quite a few more to come in 6 hours, so hopefully this makes some sense...
Having items stolen from checked baggage will only result in financial compensation in two ways
1) You have the items insured
2) A law enforcement operation makes arrests for thefts at the points in which your luggage was in transit and you can prove your item was stolen at a time/date/location those arrested were on duty (rare, but it happens)
When you check your baggage your baggage goes from you to the airline (at some airports back to you then the TSA, the back to the airline), from the airline it goes to a TSA area, then either to a ramp handing company or back to the airline.
When baggage is transfered it goes to a baggage transfer area, if you are changing airlines the baggage goes to a baggage transfer cart, then to another airlines baggage transfer area. At times baggage is sent through a second TSA screening process, then back to the airline or ramp handling company (sometimes both.)
These are the key points in transit when baggage is inspected and most likely subject to the potential of theft.
The problem here is this...who stole it? The airline? The TSA? the ramp handing company? At which airport was the item removed?
Of course another problem is this, airlines specifically exclude photographic equipment from their liability in the contract of carriage. Tripods are clearly considered to be photographic equipment.
I wrote about what excluded in an airline contract of carriage at the end of April here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/flyingwithfish/2009/04/29/the-airline-contrac.../
As for locks, they do not really prevent many thefts. The only approved locks are TSA Sentry locks (www.travelsentry.org). While combination locks are safer that key locks, the problem with TSA Sentry locks is that ALL locks have a key entry. There are a limited number of 'universal' keys for all Sentry locks. These Sentry keys are supposed to be for TSA baggage screeners only, however I know of many ramp agents who have these keys, and I have seen these keys for sale on e-Bay (I also have Senry Key #2 somewhere on my desk, given to me by someone in the airline industry...they are easy to get). The point of a lock is to keep people out, but when getting keys is so easy, what's the point?
Within the TSA there is also an not-so-talked about lack of official keys (you can get them on e-Bay but not through official requisitions...what a shock). This shortage of keys at certain airports results in a higher than average number of approved locks being cut off at certain airports by the TSA.
So where does this get you and where do you go from here?
First you file this form with the TSA
www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/sf-95_claim_package.pdf
From there you contact the initial airline you traveled on, who is ultimately responsible for the baggage you checked. Skip the 800# customer service number and go to US Airways' corporate office and ask for a customer service supervisor: 480-693-0800. You might want to skip all the people who can't help you and just ask for Elise Eberwein who is the Sr. Vice President of People-Communications at US Airways . She is really the only person in the company fully empowered to 'give a damn' at the airline. (If you want her e-mail, drop me an e-mail),
In reality will US Airways or the TSA do anything? Unfortunately, probably not because you don't know where in the chain of transit the tripod was removed...but I'd try the TSA followed by US Airways and see where it goes |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 3:40 AM on 05.25.09 |
->> Steve,
As for flying with a gun to protect your camera gear...I wrote about this in August here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/flyingwithfish/2008/10/08/protecting-your-sen.../
That was followed up in March by a story glanced over by nearly every media outlet of multiple guns being stolen from properly secured and checked baggage at St. Louis-Lambert Airport. In short, airport blames the TSA, the TSA says it was up to the airport, airport law enforcement claims it was a problem that the airline involved needed to address. The info I was eventually given by 'officials' was completely off the record so I unfortunately can't write about those details...but you can read about this whole strange incident here:
http://boardingarea.com/blogs/flyingwithfish/2009/03/24/how-can-guns-get-st.../ |
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Phil Hawkins, Photographer
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Fresno | ca | usa | Posted: 10:44 AM on 05.25.09 |
->> Thanks, Fish... So, I am basically SOL.
Do you sell your FFMs? |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 10:57 AM on 05.25.09 |
->> The opus has arrived!
Thanks. |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 3:21 PM on 05.25.09 |
->> "Thanks, Fish... So, I am basically SOL.
Do you sell your FFMs?"
You should file the paperwork, it may trigger an investigation. Investigations often happen when there is a higher than average number of claims files.
I do not sell my FFMs. I have in the past donated up to 25,000 miles in a single shot to charities. The last donations were to the Make A Wish Foundation. Last time I pretty much wiped out my entire US Airways account as I don't use it (I fly US Airways extensively but all my miles are credited to BMI/British Midland) |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 3:22 PM on 05.25.09 |
| ->> ...off for the last flight of the weekend, if you have any questions drop me an e-mail. |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 3:22 PM on 05.25.09 |
->> "There will soon be 'FAL' Fish approved locks."
David,
It's called Duct Tape |
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Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer
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Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 8:59 PM on 05.26.09 |
->> Steve & others,
A good friend recently had the TSA-approved lock cut off of her suitcase (by TSA) into which she had placed a (declared) Glock automatic. She followed all the rules and her lock was still cut off and replaced with a worthless zip-tie.
TSA is worthless.
Chuck |
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Steven E. Frischling, Photographer
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Live HVN : Work SFO-NYC | | | Posted: 9:55 PM on 05.26.09 |
->> Chuck,
These things happen and they should not. I have discussed this at length with the TSA and oddly enough the TSA's 'chief blog guy' is very open about the positives and negatives of his agency. It is really quite refreshing when speaking with a government agency.
That said...there are TSA screeners who will see a fully-compliant gun case, marked as 'special handling' (this is because a gun case should not be sent down the baggage chute) and get curious about what is inside.
There was a recent incident with a US Marine sniper headed to Afghanistan whose rifle was 'lost' at PHL. The case had all the proper identification on it, engraved in it, and still the baggage office claimed they could not find it for three days. When it was forwarded to Germany, where it was originally headed, the locks had been cut off.
Everything was intact, but from what I understand the German officials on the other end were very concerned that an airline forwarded a sniper rifle in a case that was no longer properly secured (I see there point).
At some point there needs to be an overhaul of policy, security and monitoring baggage at all critical points in transit. I say critical points because there are times in transit when it is highly unlikely that a bag will be opened or have the opportunity to be opened.
The vetting process must also become more secure. |
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